All I Ask of You
by Stargazer-102006
Summary: This story is a romance between Nephrite and Lita. There’ll be some action once I write more. I really hope you guys like it! Please R&R!
1. Chp 1

Chp 1

Nephrite walked down the long halls of the Jupiter Castle. He tried to remember the directions he had been given to find his room. He trudged angrily up the long flight of stairs, muttering under his breath.

"I thought these were the _good_ guys. These stairs are evil. Pure absolute torture."

He cursed under his breath a little more, then finally reached his floor. He took in a deep breath, regaining his composure.

He walked down the long hallway, counting doors as he went. He stopped outside the door next to his. He put his ear to the door, listening for anything. He couldn't hear a sound, not even a sheet rustle.

He opened the door slowly, and stepped into the room. He shut it gently behind him, the door making only the smallest click. He looked around, his eyes adjusting quickly to the dim light. He studied the room, and found it to be feminine, but not overly girlie. The walls were painted a deep shade of green, and the ceiling was an ivory white color. The window shades were a light pink, and all of the furniture matched, made of cherry wood. There were plants and flowers all around the room. Against one of the walls, there was a large bed. The sheets were an off white, with green leaves and small pink flowers. He spotted a full head of brown, curly hair in the middle of the bed. He walked over to her. He told himself he was only going to check on her, then leave quickly.

Nephrite walked around the bed, slowly and quietly. He knelt down so he would be level with the sleeping girl's face. He heard some things of the Jupiter princess, but only enough to think of her when she was brought up in conversation. He had also heard a description of her. Though he couldn't see the 'amazing green eyes' he had heard about, he curly brown hair gave it away. He heard her name… of course he had, that wasn't something left out of conversations. Lalita, that was her name. Though he was told to call her Lita, and only that, if he valued his life. Without a second thought, he brushed back a strand of loose hair. He blinked, thinking about what he had done. It felt like it was custom, brushing her hair away from his eyes. His fingers tingled where he had touched her soft hair. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nagging urge to touch her hair again.

As Nephrite stood up, he stopped, halfway. He looked thoughtfully at the ground, trying to find out what had changed. There was no noise in the room, except for the girl's breathing. He leaned towards her slightly.

'_That's it…' _he thought. _'Her breathing has changed. Is she dreaming? Or… is she awake?' _

Nephrite drew his head back, but not quick enough. The girl he thought was sleeping was wide-awake— and had him by the hair.

Nephrite yelled out in surprise, as the recently serene looking girl knocked him to the floor. He felt rather awkward, pinned on the floor, by the girl he was suppose to be protecting.

"Um, excuse me," Nephrite began, but was cut off by a knee driving itself deep into his chest.

"Who are you! What were you doing in my room?" Lita yelled, angrily. She still had Nephrite by the hair with one hand, and the other was pressing down on his chest, along with her knee.

Nephrite glared at her. "I— can't talk— you're— cutting off— my airway." _This would all be rather comical, _he thought. _…If it weren't happening to me…_

She pressed down harder. "Obviously you could just fine, now answer my question!"

Nephrite glared up at the girl. '_This is ridiculous_!' he thought. He pushed himself off the floor, grabbing her by the waist and shoulder. She gasped, as he flipped her back onto the bed. She was on her back, where Nephrite held her, firmly but gently.

"My name is Nephrite," he said, catching his breath. "I've been assigned to guard you. However, I can't do my job so well if you fight me, now can I?"

"How in the hell did you get in here?" Lita snapped.

"I broke through the window!" Nephrite yelled, annoyed. When the girl started to struggle, he pushed her down. "No, I did not break through the window! Your mother let me in! Now, if I let you go, will you not fight me?"

"I'm not promising anything."

Nephrite sighed and sat down, still holding Lita down. "Well, then I'm not promising I'm letting you go anytime soon."

Lita glared up at Nephrite. Her eyes changed for a second, they seemed to quickly glow a brighter green. Nephrite was still looking down at her when he felt a quick, electric zap on his hands where he held her.

Nephrite jumped back, waving his hands around as though he had been burned. He looked down at Lita, who was pushing herself up. He stared at her, wide-eyed. She simply sat up, a calm look on her face, though she seemed a bit flushed.

"Let me see your sword," Lita said calmly.

"What!" Nephrite yelped, his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. "You could have killed me with your knee, now you want me sword? You _must_ be out of your mind!"

Lita sighed. "I only want to see if it has the crest of the generals," she said. "The only way I'll believe you is if I see it."

Nephrite's eyes went from wide and disbelieving to narrow and suspicious. Nonetheless, he held out his sword. Lita examined it carefully, running her fingers over the large blue diamond, and the four smaller gems that encircled it. the swords could not be forged, there was no possible way. Satisfied, Lita sat back. She looked up at Nephrite, a bit guilty.

"Sorry about… that whole thing. You just… scared me, you know?" she said sincerely.

Nephrite stared at her and blinked. She looked sincere, yes, but her eyes seemed to be holding something. It was as though she had a secret. Lita looked him up and down.

_He's strong… _she thought. _And good looking too. I guess if I've got to have a baby-sitter, this isn't so bad._

_She's strong… _he thought. _And good looking too. I guess if I've got to baby-sit, this isn't so bad._

Lita shook her head just slightly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. _What am I thinking? _She screamed at herself. _He's got to be way older than me!_

Nephrite blinked, blushing a bit. _What am I thinking? She's just a kid! _He scolded himself.

"How old are you?" Nephrite and Lita asked simotaneously.

"17," Lita said.

"22," Nephrite said.

_Not so bad… _they both thought. They looked up at each other and looked down, blushing again.

"Well…" Nephrite started. "Things seem to be fine here… I'm going to go to my room."

"Yeah," Lita said, smiling at him, as she got back underneath her sheets. "'Night,"

Nephrite smiled, refusing the urge to pull Lita's sheets up around her. He walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him. he walked to his room, and hurried inside. He walked straight to his bed, kicking off his shoes as he left, ignoring the handsomely upholstered room. He collapsed onto his bed, and crawled under his sheets.

_This is going to be much harder then I thought. I knew these people were evil._

OK, so this chapter was suppose to be kind of funny… but I'm not so good at funny ;) Well, I hope you do like it! Please review!


	2. Chp 2

Chp 2

Nephrite groaned, and buried himself deeper underneath his pillows. He was woken up by the sound of shouting outside of his room. He didn't have a very restful sleep… he hadn't been able to get that blasted woman out of his head. She invaded his thoughts constantly, and he felt like he was about to go insane. His dreams had also kept him up— as they always did.

He tried to ignore the shouting outside. None of it sounded frantic, so he really was in no hurry to get outside. He rolled onto his back, preparing to sit up.

_I really should get going, _he thought. _This is my first real day… need to make a good first impression._

Nephrite lay still for a moment, then rolled over onto his side.

_Screw first impressions._

Nephrite willed himself to go back to sleep, but sleep just wouldn't come. Something kept him up, though he couldn't put his finger on it. He lay there for several minutes, trying to figure it out. As lay silently, thinking, he figured it out— everything was silent. The shouting outside had stopped. Everything else was unnaturally silent. Nephrite moved his arm under his blanket, just enough until his hand rested on his sword. He pulled it towards him slowly and silent, hardly making a move. He pulled it close to his bare chest, grasping it tightly. There was a slight noise in his room, so small it was probably nothing more then a piece of clothing ruffle. Nephrite knew that he hadn't moved a single muscle, so the noise was enough to get him up.

He sprang up in his bed, his sword thrust out. The quick movement blurred his vision slightly ((don't mock it, you know how it is when you get up really quick and things kind of go dark)), but he focused his eyes on his sword. He saw a disfigured reflection in the sword, though it looked a bit familiar. He followed his eyes up the sword; to the person it was less then an inch from. He gulped, as he stared into Lita's face.

Lita stared at him, her hands raised, a smirk on her face.

"Easy there, big guy," she said, smiling. She put two fingers on the blunt side of the sword and pushed it down, away from her neck. "Are you always so jumpy?"

"You snuck into my room! What do you expect!"

"Wait… let me get this straight… it's okay for you to sneak into _my _room while I sleep, but if I come into _your _room, you jab a sword at my throat?"

"Don't act innocent about the whole thing! Need I remind you about the grasping of hair and the digging of knees!" he said, grasping a lock of his hair, and placing a hand on his chest.

Lita crossed her arms. "Well, then I would say we're even now."

"I hardly compare what you did to looking at the sharp end of a sword!"

"What, you want to beat me up instead?" Lita yelled, putting on a bravado face, and taking a fighting stance. She blushed as Nephrite brushed past her.

"My job isn't to spar with you. I'm sure you have enough people here that worship the ground you walk on. Get one of them to fight you."

Lita turned around, fuming. "Hey! What is _that _suppose to mean!"

Nephrite looked back at her as he pulled on a shirt and briefly ran his hands through his hair. "I've seen the people around here. You have hundreds of people working for you, and they all adore you. I bet you don't even know their names."

Lita stalked over to him. "Of course I know their names! Each one of them! Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that! You have no idea what kind of person I am! Don't take me to be some spoiled brat!"

"Aren't you?" Nephrite questioned, smirking. He enjoyed seeing Lita fume like this. He enjoyed it very much.

"No!" she shouted. I am not!"

Nephrite shrugged and opened his door, where Lita's mother and father were standing, their ears pressed against the door. They backed away quickly, and smiled awkwardly at Nephrite and Lita. Nephrite stood in the doorway.

"Well?" he asked. "Coming?"

"Why should I follow you? What is this, some kind of 'five steps behind me' thing? Are you one of those 'head never higher then mine' guys?"

Nephrite smirked. This was wonderful. "No, unless that's the way you prefer it. I wouldn't worry about the 'head' one though. You are below me… in the whole height thing, of course," he added, as he saw Lita's eyes glow. "I need to stay by you. That's why are rooms are so close. I was pushed into giving you _some _privacy. That's the extent of it though. Other then that, it's you and me, we're stuck."

Lita gaped at him, and he returned her forlorn look with a very wide, animated grin. He gave her a mock bow, motioning for her to leave the room. She stomped by him.

_You're not letting it end that easily, _she thought as she passed him.

Unknown to Nephrite, her eyes glowed bright green, as they did the night before. Her arm brushed against his head. As he was shocked, Nephrite took an animated fall. Strands of his hair stood up, creating a mini afro. He looked at Lita, who was stomping down the hall, and grinned.

_I knew, _he thought, _this wasn't going to be so bad._


	3. Chp 3

Hey everyone! Well, I read some of my reviews, and I'm so happy! I love getting reviews! It made me want to write faster for all of you! OK, let me see if I can answer some things… Serenathy: I think I'm going to have it right now that Lita doesn't have her powers fully. And yes, you'll find out soon why Nephrite is needed. JupiterPixie: Yeah, I did get the title from that song. It's my favorite play, and I have fallen in love with the movie ;) I think I'll incorporate the song later. OK… believe that's it… now, on with the show!

Chp 3

Lita glared at Nephrite over her cup of cocoa. Nephrite sipped his coffee nonchalantly. If he sensed Lita's glare at all, he made no notice of it. He looked up, meeting Lita's eyes. Returning her glare, he winked at her.

"Pig," Lita muttered as she stood up.

Nephrite looked up at her. "Going somewhere?"

"You can bet your life on it." she hissed.

"Not my life, princess. Just my job." He stood up, and took a final sip of his drink. "I do wish you would let me finish, though."

"I'm not making you do anything. Eat if you like, quite frankly. I don't give a damn."

"Such a mouth. You forget so quickly… I'm to stay by you, remember?"

Lita glared daggers at him, and quickly turned on her heels. She quickly walked down the hall, her hands clenched at her sides. Her quick steps blew strands of her long, wavy hair blowing out behind her. Nephrite smiled to himself as he walked after her, his long strides allowing him to catch up quickly.

Lita glanced over her shoulder, still glaring at him. "Are you to dense to realize that I'm walking to get _away _from you!"

"No, you've made that point obvious. And I thought I had made my own point obvious to you. Until it's believed that you are safe again, we're together."

Lita spun around quickly and stopped. Her abrupt movement made Nephrite nearly stumble. He stopped quickly, as to not fall onto Lita.

"What is this 'danger'?" She asked accusingly. "Why is everyone keeping me in the dark? Tell me what is going on!"

Nephrite looked at her, genuinely surprised.

"You don't know?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?"

"You make a good point," he said. He began to walk again, this time in the lead.

Lita stared at him, shocked and fuming.

_I'll be damned if I chase after him, _she though._ He can't leave anyway; he's got to stay by me._

Lita crossed her arms, a stubborn look on her face. Her features grew softer as she watched Nephrite continue to walk down the hall. He had made no sign of slowing down, not even stopping.

_Damn him! _ She thought, as she ran after him.

_5- _he thought, counting down silently. _4-3-2-1—_

"Nephrite!" Lita yelled, right behind Nephrite. "Don't walk away from me! I'm talking to you!"

"I'm listening," Nephrite said, grinning at her. "Too tempting to stay behind?" He asked in a low voice, dripping with seduction.

Lita blushed a crimson red, but composed herself quickly. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm just trying to get some facts."

_What the hell is wrong with him? _She thought. _I liked him a lot better last night. Not so damn cocky then._

"Well?" she yelled. "Are you going to tell me what this is about or not?"

"Obviously no one thought you could handle this. I'm not going to go against them and tell you."

Lita gaped at him. "You said you would tell me!" she yelled, a whine in her voice.

"How old are you, seven or seventeen?" Nephrite asked, laughing.

"You are unbelievable." Lita said through grinding her teeth.

Nephrite looked at her. He hadn't meant to get her so upset. They were stuck together for who knew how long. Nephrite didn't want her to hate him.

"Hey—" he started, apologetically. Lita simply turned, opened the door next to her and walked inside. She slammed the door shut in Nephrite's face, blowing back a few locks of his hair.

_Blasted woman, _he thought, as he sat down outside of the door.

Clouded gray eyes looked into a long, tall mirror. He watched the whole scenario between Lita and Nephrite play out. He saw Nephrite sitting across from the large door Lita had thrown herself into. He saw Lita herself, leaning against the other side of the door, her arms crossed, and a deep scowl on her face.

"Soon, my love," he said out loud, as he placed his hand on the vision of her face. "Soon."

Allrighty, so that ended kind of cliché, but I thought it was time to bring this guy in. We'll see how it goes with him. Hope you guys like the story so far! Please review, and keep reading!


	4. Chp 4

Chp 4

Here's how last chapter ended…

_Clouded gray eyes looked into a long, tall mirror. He watched the whole scenario between Lita and Nephrite play out. He saw Nephrite sitting across from the large door Lita had thrown herself into. He saw Lita herself, leaning against the other side of the door, her arms crossed, and a deep scowl on her face._

_"Soon, my love," he said out loud, as he placed his hand on the vision of her face. "Soon."_

Now… on with the show!

It had been only two weeks since Nephrite had arrived. He had Lita had been… civil with each other. There had been a few curses, scuffles, and slammed doors, but nothing too serious. Now, Lita stood in front of her long mirror, looking at the outfit she was wearing. She had put it all on, after a long hour in front of her closet, trying to find an outfit that she would wear for the upcoming party.

Lita was wearing a black, tight fitting, silk dress. It accented every part of her body. It was skin tight, until it reached the bottom of her butt ((it took me sooo long to write that word. I wanted to find a better way of putting it, but I could find none. Please forgive me)), which it hung down from, creating quite a sight when she spun around. It had a low dropping neckline, and the back went half way down her back. The shoulder straps were three strands of gold. The dress went down just below her ankles. She had on a necklace that was composed of three gold strands, a matching bracelet, and golden hoop earrings. By her feet was a pair of black heeled shoes, with straps that went up her leg. Her hair was pulled back loosely with an emerald jeweled clip. She had several strands of curly hair hanging down by her face, accenting the shape of her face.

She sighed and looked at her reflection, her hands on her hips.

"I just don't know…" she said to Ami, Mina, Raye and Serena, who were sitting on her bed behind her. "Does it look too…"

"Sexy?" Raye piped in. "It's very sexy."

"Yeah," she said, hesitantly. "But is _too_ sexy?"

"Not at all!" Mina said. "You look gorgeous in it!"

Lita stood in front of the mirror for several more minutes, silently turning every which way, examining her reflection. Finally she sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. She turned and looked at the girls sitting on her bed, and smiled.

"OK. I'm wearing it."

The girls stood up, giving Lita several words of approval.

"Now," Serena said. "What about a mask? This is a masquerade, you _have _to wear a mask."

"Yeah," Lita said. "I've already got one. It's why I wanted a black dress to wear." She crossed the room over to the head of her bed, and shuffled through one of the drawers. She pulled out a large, thin box, and opened it. She pulled out a mask, which seemed to be made of raven wings. It had thin strands of gold hanging from the bottom which came up every inch or so.

"Good," Serena said. "I like it. The whole outfit is really good."

"And black is really flattering on you," Ami said.

"Thanks," Lita said to both Serena and Ami. She sat down on her bed and started to put her shoes on. "I don't know why… but I feel nervous."

Mina giggled. "Could it be because of that hot guy here? I saw him coming in, and he is _sexy_."

Lita sighed. "Trust me, it's not him," Lita said. She felt like she had to reassure herself of this. Her stomach had done a whole 'Circe De Solei' act when Mina brought him up.

"Not him?" Raye asked, disbelieving. "Lita, you jump after any guy you see. Tell me you don't like him."

"He's a jerk," Lita said.

"You didn't answer me."

Lita stayed quiet, which earned her laughs from the other girls. Lita blushed, and shook her head, smiling. She stood up, and absentmindedly ran her hands over her dress.

"OK, let's get going," she said to the other girls. They stood up and walked out of Lita's room together. The each slipped on their masks as they walked down the halls. The whole idea of a masquerade seemed so secret to Lita, she felt like she had to talk to the girls in a hushed voice.

The girl entered the large ballroom as people were beginning to file in. Almost immediately, each of the girls were asked to dance, and pulled off in different directions. As much as Lita enjoyed dancing, she would have had a much better time with different dancing partners. The ones that did know how to dance were incredibly boring. Each time an upbeat song came on, she would be left. These were the dances that she wanted to dance to the most, though they could not be done very well alone. ((Ok, so you know, these are Latin dances. Meringue, Salsa, Rumba, etc.)) One of the girls working in the Jupiter Castle had taught her how to dance to the music. She had come from Earth, and knowing Lita's love for dancing, she had taught her dances from her country. Lita had requested that several of these songs be played at the dance, hoping someone would be able to dance to it with her.

Lita was standing against the wall, watching the people dance. The song they were dancing to ended, and another one of the fast songs started up. Lita sighed, and watched as the floor considerably emptied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man walking over to her.

_If you don't know how to dance, _she thought bitterly, _don't ask. I am not going to dance to this music like a retard._

The man continued his way over to Lita. He was danced very handsomely, with his long hair tied back. Lita watched him; even though he was wearing a mask, she could tell by his walk that it was Nephrite. As he approached her, he bowed slightly. Any doubts she had disappeared with the bow. Nephrite had too much pride to bow to a complete stranger.

_Maybe he's a real gentleman… _Lita thought. _Maybe he just can't stand you._

Lita bowed her head. Nephrite, not speaking, held out his hand to Lita. She took it, and the two of them walked out onto the dance floor, and in the middle of the thin crowd.

_Strong silent type, huh? If you don't know how to dance, Nephrite, I swear, I'll—_

All thoughts left Lita's head as Nephrite quickly spun her out. She gasped as he pulled her back into him quickly, pressing her body against his.

Mina, who was standing off to the side with Serena, Ami, and Raye, looked over onto the dance floor as Lita and Nephrite were dancing. Her jaw dropped.

"Mina?" Ami asked. Mina simply pointed as the other girls looked at her. They followed the direction of her finger, all of them rather curious to see what had rendered Mina speechless. They all watched; their jaws on the floor.

Lita's mother and father looked towards the dance floor, seeing how that was where everyone else's eyes were focused. There was not a sound besides the quick music playing. They stared at their daughter and Nephrite, dancing in very sensual moves as the music played.

((Man, I wish I could explain the dance moves to you, but I'm afraid that if I did, it would ruin it. My inspiration for the dance is a mixture of different movie scenes. 'Moulin Rogue'- the tango scene, 'Shall We Dance'- when Jennifer Lopez is teaching the rumba to the boys using the blond girl, 'Dirty Dancing'- when the two are in the competition, and 'The Wedding Planner'- when J.Lo and that boy are pulled into the dance practice.))

"I've been watching you dance" Nephrite whispered, as he dipped Lita. "You're quite talented." He ran his hand down Lita's body before pulling her back upright.

"You're very good yourself," Lita whispered, breathlessly. Nephrite pushed Lita down his body slowly, her back to his torso, then pulled her back up roughly, as the music played. He spun her out and pulled her back towards him again, Lita now facing him. "It's surprising. You don't seem like a dancer."

"You knew it was me coming over," Nephrite said, after a moment of silent dancing. "Why did you agree to dance."

Lita was lifted into the air and spun, then set back down on her feet. Not missing a beat, she came up on her tiptoes, reaching Nephrite's ear.

"I wanted to dance with you," she whispered.

Nephrite stepped back from her slightly, and spun her. Lita spun several complete circles before the music came to a stop.

Nephrite let go of Lita's and bowed.

"Thank you for the dance, princess."

Serena waved air onto her face as the room roared with applause.

"Anyone else want some water?" Ami asked.

OK, what do you guys think? LOL that was fun. Give me some reviews on how you think it was. I'm going to open up the next chapter with a bang. Keep reading!


	5. Chp 5

Chp 5

Lita stood in the middle of the floor, trying to catch her breath from the dance. She whipped off her mask; it had suddenly become very irritating to her. Those who didn't know that it was Lita dancing gasped in surprise. For the first time since she walked onto the floor with Nephrite, she realized that there were more people in the room then just Nephrite and herself. She looked up, sheepishly. She saw the cheering and shocked faces of the people around her. She looked over at her friends, who were standing, glued to the floor, looking absolutely shocked, yet impressed. Slowly, her eyes crept over to her parents, who were staring at her. Lita couldn't read their expressions, which worried her.

_It was just a dance… _she whined in her head. But in the back of her mind, she knew it was more then a dance. It meant more than that to her, and she was positive it meant more to Nephrite. The voice of the girl who taught Lita the dance floated back into her head. She had once described the dance to Lita, when she was trying to get the feel of it. _' The vertical display of a horizontal wish…' _Lita blushed at the thought.

She looked at Nephrite's back. He was slowly walking away.

_He's teasing me…_

Lita sighed and started to walk back towards her friends. As soon as she took her first step, she could have sworn she felt the ground shake beneath her. Lita paused, thinking her legs must simply be shaking. She looked up, and saw startled faces around her. It wasn't her imagination, that shake had been real. Her father grabbed his wife's arm. Nephrite stopped walking, and looked up, as though he was expecting to see something above him.

There was a second shake… more violent this time. Lita put her arms out in an attempt to steady herself. As the shook ended, all the lights in the ballroom went out. Glass shattered, and sparks fell from the walls. Lita gasped as she felt someone grab her shoulder and put a hand on her back.

"Slow your breathing down," Nephrite whispered to her quietly, his mouth right next to her ear. "And put your mask back on."

"What?" Lita asked, confused. "Why?"

"Just do it," he hissed. Something in his voice urged Lita to do as he said. She took a deep breath, calming herself down, and slid her mask on.

"Now," he said. "Don't make—"

Nephrite was cut off by another shake, this one much more powerful than the other two. Lita heard several screams ring out in the pitch-black room, and Lita felt herself fall back. Nephrite had lost his footing as well, but composed himself quickly, steadying himself and Lita. Lita opened her mouth to say something, but there was a loud, booming laugh that stripped her of her breath. She felt chills run up and down her entire body.

"Come on out love!" A dark voice yelled. It sounded incredibly close to Lita, and it scared her. "Let me see your beautiful face!"

"Nephrite—" she whispered, her voice shaking, but Nephrite shushed her. Lita quickly closed her mouth.

A man with clouded blue eyes peered around the dark room. He laughed, seeing the frightened expressions of the people, and as he laughed, the room shook once more. He stopped laughing abruptly, quite frustrated by the masks.

"Take off your mask you coward, and _show your fucking face!" _he yelled dangerously. "Come now princess, you'll make it easier on both of us! Take off your mask, Lalita!"

Lita gasped, and covered her mouth with a shaking hand. Her blood ran cold and she felt as though she had been delivered quite a blow to her stomach. Nephrite rubbed her back slightly, a small attempt to comfort her. He didn't want her to find out about things this way.

Tanzanite, the man with the clouded eyes glared around the room. He didn't dare take a step and be seen. He looked around through the slits of his mask. Damn the masquerade! He stopped, his eyes transfixed on some large object that appeared to be glowing with a white-hot light. He snarled deep in his throat. Whatever this was had great powers. Powers he had not come prepared to deal with.

"You're lucky, my love!" He shouted, shaking the room again. "I'll be ready for whatever you have next time! Prepare yourself— I promise, you don't have very long!"

As the words stopped, the room gave a final shake, this one outdoing the rest by far. A figure amongst the crowd disappeared as everyone else fell to the floor.


	6. Author's note to readers

A note to my readers…

All right, there are a few points that I need to address. Firstly, it has been brought to my attention that my story may have gotten a bit confusing. I do apologize to those of you who believe this. I have only had one comment along these lines, but I understand that there may be others who feel the same. The only remark has been about the relationship between Lita and Nephrite. I have written so they seem sort of… cold to each other outwardly, but inside they feel differently. I realize I have not made that clear, and I do apologize. I think before the whole 'Tanzanite' incident it wasn't more then a simple crush, and two people who (secretly) enjoyed each other. But I think this threat will bring the two of them closer, as will the incidents that will follow. However, it must be said, their relationship will be a messy roller coaster, so as these two swing back and forth, to be feel confused or anything.

My second point; as you may have noticed, I'm not exactly following the traditional Sailor Moon story line… nor do I intend to. One remark I got early on was some question as to why Lita would need a 'bodyguard', which I suppose is more or less what Nephrite is. She's not quite how she is SM, but her character will be… shall we say… 'molded'.

The ending will also not follow the SM story line. Why? Well… this is _my_ story. And I intend on playing with it and bending it to my liking. That is the power of the author. Lol Plus, I've got this story ending which I have been _dying _to use, and since I plan on ending this story (many of my works are left alone after a while) I'm going to use the ending. It's a… powerful one. It came to me while I was listening to a song. It's funny; I can base a whole story off one idea… like an ending. Anyway, I'm getting off subject. Anyway, thank y' for putting up with this. Keep those reviews coming, and I'll keep giving you guys the chapters!

Love,

Me


	7. Chp 6

Chp 6

Nephrite sat in a chair he had pulled up next to Lita's bed. He watched her as she slept silently. She had been hard to get down, but once her parents and friends, and Nephrite himself, finally talked her into sleep, she lay down.

After the ordeal in the ballroom, people were frantic. Those who didn't flea, demanding explanations, which no one was able to offer. Nephrite and Lita's parents were the only ones who had an idea of what happened. None the less, they didn't have any solid answers. That which they did know, they felt it was best if left unanswered.

After Lita went to bed, the other princesses (Ami, Mina, Raye, and Serena) were ushered back to their own planets, their protests ignored. They were practically dragged out of the castle after trying their best to comfort Lita, who was visibly shaken. Nephrite didn't necessarily see the point for making such a fuss of getting the girls out. He didn't see any immediate danger. Even if there was, they weren't involved. Nephrite spoke his opinions, but was humbled by a point that was brought up by Lita's father.

"This man is truly sick," he had said to Nephrite in a hushed voice. "Who knows what lengths he will go to, to get what he wants. If these girls are still here when he comes back—" he paused. "Lita would do anything for her friends." Nephrite said nothing to the girls after that.

Nephrite sat in the chair, his arms crossed, staring at Lita, deep in thought. So many things were going through his head; he could hardly sort out one thought from the next. He was thinking about his job, all that was said to him and all that had happened during the night. All of it.

Nephrite saw a small sliver of light fall across Lita's bed. He watched it, tense, as it got wider. Realizing it was the door opening, he stood up, pulling his sword out of its sheath at his side, and turned towards the door. His glare softened as he saw Lita's mother standing at the door. She looked at Lita, before her eyes met his. She smiled slightly.

"I apologize for frightening you, Nephrite," she said. "It was thoughtless."

_Poor woman, _Nephrite thought. _I can't imagine how all of this has been on her. Her only child…_

Nephrite shook his head, putting his sword back in place. "I was rash."

"But you should be. It's your job. Now, as I'm sure you know, you need to be on your highest guard." She paused. "I didn't come in here just to make you jump out of your skin. My husband wishes to speak with you."

Nephrite turned and looked at Lita, then looked back at her mother. She was surprised at the momentary look of such a strong concern that had flashed across his face.

"I'd rather not leave her," he said simply.

"He will talk to you outside of her door. And it will be brief. You may still stay in her room, if it will make you feel better. I simply wish that she is not woken."

Nephrite nodded and walked towards the door. He stood right in the doorway, in front of Lita's father. Nephrite couldn't help but notice how the king's eyes were bloodshot, obviously from the lack of sleep. He held himself quite well though, that Nephrite was impressed with.

"Nephrite—" he started. "I'm sure you understand that things have become— worse, to put it simply."

Nephrite nodded in agreement.

"Surely I don't need to tell you that you have to be on even higher alert," he chuckled, tiredly. "Yet here I am, late at night, making sure you do know it."

"Sir," Nephrite said. "Trust me, I understand how important Lita is— to you and your wife," he said after receiving a look from Lita's mother. "I swear to you, I will do every possible thing to protect her."

"I would hope so. Lita is my daughter, my only child—" he averted his gaze from Nephrite's, and looked in at his daughter. "And knowing she is in danger truly breaks me." He looked back up at Nephrite. "I have seen you with her Nephrite. I have seen— the way you look at her— and I know you will let nothing happen to her."

He opened his mouth as though to say something, but simply shook his head, took his wife by the hand, and bid Nephrite goodnight.

Nephrite stepped back, quietly closing the door. He turned and walked back to his chair. He sat down, sighing, and never looking away from Lita.

So… this chapter was a bit slow, but things will pick up next chapter. Oh yeah, I hear I have to do this, at least once… I do not own the original Sailor Moon characters, though some of the personalities and characters are my own. 


	8. Chp 7

Chp 7

Lita stirred in her bed. She had woken up several times during the night. When she did wake up, she would see Nephrite sitting by her bed. When he would see her eyes open, he would smile softly, pat her arm, and tell her to try to get back to sleep. When she _was_ sleeping, her mind was full of dreams, streaming through so fast; she couldn't concentrate on any of them.

Lita now rubbed her hands over her face, groaning, and sat up. She was giving up on sleep. Gaining it was simply a battle she was loosing.

"Ready to get up?" she heard Nephrite ask. She turned and looked at him. He looked quite tired.

"Did you get any sleep?" Lita asked.

Nephrite shrugged. "A bit. Your father was sending someone in to watch you every now and then, so that I could sleep. Even then, I only dozed off. Your chairs obviously weren't built for sleeping."

"You stayed in that chair? All night?"

"Should I not have?"

"You didn't have too. The palace guard is quite capable, you know. They were hand picked."

"Yes, I don't doubt their capability," he said sincerely.

"Well— then I don't understand why—"

"Lita," Nephrite interrupted, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'll stand outside while you get ready, but please do hurry. After you're ready, come out and eat some breakfast." He began to walk to the door.

"Hey, wait a second, you aren't answering any of my questions! Why the rush? What's going on?"

"Today's a busy day," he said, not turning around. He opened the door, and halfway out, turned his head towards Lita. "And don't dress up." He smiled, almost teasingly, and closed the door behind him.

Lita glared at the door, sighed, rubbing her face again, and hopped out of bed.

Lita stood outside of her castle with Nephrite. She yawned, half from lack of sleep, and half just to be an annoyance to Nephrite. She saw that it worked, as Nephrite shot her a glare.

"You _have_ to take this seriously, Lita. You need to be ready when Tanzanite comes back." He said, sternly.

"Don't you mean _if_ he comes back?" She asked. Her heart took a leap when Nephrite shook his head. "Well— anyway, why do _I_ need training? You're the one who was sent here to protect me, right? _Are you leaving?_" Lita yelled the last part.

"Don't be silly," Nephrite said. "I have absolutely no plans on leaving. However, what do you think will happen when Tanzanite comes? If I try to protect you, do you think he'll smile and ask me to stand aside?" Lita shook her head. "That's right. He'll fight me. And what if he beats me?"

"He won't," Lita said in a small voice. It sounded as though she was half trying to convince herself.

"He might. You have to be prepared for that."

Nephrite put his hands behind his back, and began to pace. "Now, I hear that you have been taught, to some extent, how to control your powers. They are no where near as powerful as they could be, though. And, your fighting skills—" he pulled out his sword and swung it at Lita's neck, all in one quick motion. He stopped, a mere inch from her neck. "Have never even been touched."

Lita stared at him in shock, her eyebrows knitted together. "_What do you think you are doing!_" she screamed. "You are completely psychotic!"

"Do you honestly think I would have hurt you?"

"You came damn near close to it!"

Nephrite studied her face. Her features began to soften, and she relaxed a little.

_I know, _she thought, _He wouldn't have hurt me. Well, damn him if he expects me to admit it!_

"Are you angry?" Nephrite asked.

"… A little…" Lita said.

"Then hit me."

Lita stared at him incredulously, one eyebrow raised. "Hit you?" Nephrite nodded.

_I can't… _she thought. _I don't want to…_

_Sure I do! _She thought, torn, trying to decide whether she should or not. _Just think of all the things he's done and said that have pissed you of.. and swing!_

Lita closed her fist, and swung it at Nephrite's jaw. His expression went from a calm look to a surprised one when Lita hit him. the punch had caught him off guard, and his head snapped to the side as he stumbled back a few steps.

"You told me to hit you!" Lita yelled, as though she had to defend herself.

"Yeah— I know," he said, rubbing his jaw. "I just didn't think you knew how."

"I've seen people fight, I'm not a complete idiot, you know!"

Nephrite grinned, lowering his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small rubber band with two small, green, plastic balls on it. he tossed it to Lita.

"Tie your hair back," he said, as Lita caught the hairpiece. "Your hair was flying all over. You can't have that when you fight. Get use to wearing it— at least when we practice."

"We're going to be doing this all the time?" Lita said, tying her hair into a ponytail with the hairpiece. There were a couple of strands, which weren't as long as the others, so instead of battling with it, Lita let them hang down in front of her ears. "I thought you said you weren't going to spar with me."

Nephrite looked at Lita, feeling a bit hurt. He wished she wouldn't hold onto the things they said to each other angrily.

"Things have changed," he said, walking over to Lita. He had her separate her legs a certain length from each other, and held up her arms. "Now—" he pulled over a large, cushioned punching bag. "Concentrate on one spot— imagine it being a real person, if you like— hold your fist tight— and punch."

Lita's father stood at a window in the castle, looking down at Nephrite at Lita. He stood there for some time, watching as Nephrite had Lita practice certain moves on the object in front of her. He watched as Nephrite took the bag's place and had Lita practice blocking.

He sighed, and walked away from the window. He had never wanted things to turn this bad. He never planned on Lita needing to learn how to fight. He had hoped that the threat of Nephrite would be enough to keep Tanzanite away. He still wished, hoping against hope that this would be the end of it.

Deep down he knew how quickly things were plummeting.


	9. Chp 8

A/N: Athena Kyle, your last response helped me, though you don't know it. I didn't know that a lot of stories had Nephrite give the earrings to Lita. I was going to have him do that as well, but my urge to have an original story is too strong. So, I'll have to change it when the time comes.  Thank you!

On with the show!

Chp 8 

Tanzanite stood in a dark room, completely empty, besides himself and his mirror. He paced back and forth, his shoes clicking on the floor in the otherwise silent room. One arm behind his back, and the other stroking his chin thoughtfully, he mumbled to himself.

"So close… she was there, I would have had her if it weren't for all the damn masks… can't have that happen again… no, no, that would be bad… a waste… BOOK!"

As he yelled the order, a large book appeared in his outstretched hands. He plopped onto the cold floor and sat Indian style. He opened the book, and read a passage he had many times. It talked about the young princess of the first outer planet. About the great powers she would acquire in the time she went into her eighteenth year. With additional powers, she would become even more powerful, and would rule over her planet, protect it, and others.

"Can't have that, can we, little princess?" he said, tapping the page with his long nails. "No, no, no…"

He read over the lines that described her powers. He knew she was going into her eighteenth year… so her powers would become stronger now, if they weren't already becoming so.

"What additional powers?" he sighed. "What…"

He read the line several more times. He had never understood what, or possibly who, 'additional powers' additional powers meant. He thought about it for sometime, and the answer finally came to him. He jumped up.

"Nephrite!" he laughed. "That man, Nephrite! _He's_ the additional power!" He laughed again, maniacally. He walked over to his mirror and peered inside, at his own reflection. "Show me the object!" he commanded, pulling into his memory the large, misshapen glowing object he had seen. The mirror blurred for a second, and his reflection disappeared, the glowing object from his memory taking its place. He stared at it for a moment. "Focus." He ordered. The mirror blurred again, and after a moment of waiting, the picture showed up again. This time, it focused more on the actual object that was glowing. Objects, was the better way of describing it. Tanzanite peered at the two people standing, the taller man leaning towards the girl's ear. "Focus… on the eyes," he commanded, becoming increasingly excited. The mirror went through the same process until it focused on the eyes, one pair of crystal blue eyes, and the other bright green. Both seemed to be looking directly into Tanzanite's eyes. Tanzanite, thrilled, threw his head back and laughed. "I knew it! She's more powerful when she's with him, and he is when he's with her… that's why they were glowing! Nephrite, you sneaky man!" he laughed. "That means… I only have to get rid of one of you… that will do the trick… I'll kill just one."

A/N: Allrighty, so, I know this chapter was kind of short, but I just wanted to… I don't know. Introduce Tanzanite a little more, I guess. He's supposed to be a character that is really just rather psychotic. I didn't want him to be one of the bad guys that begins to like the person he's after, so he's simply after Lita to kill her, so he won't have to deal with her powers. Ok… I'm going to write more… I've got a long weekend, so you guys will get at least one more chapter soon. Possibly tonight… possibly tomorrow… who knows? Lol


	10. Chp 9

A/N: AthenaKyle, Don't even worry about the earring thing! I'm glad you said it. It doesn't throw me off, or anything, I'll just have someone else give them to her. It may even work better that way.

On with the show!

Chp 9

Lita sat outside in her rose garden. She thought about all of the things that had been happening over the past few weeks. She and Nephrite had been training hard everyday. On some days, her mother would come and help them train. She was the one who Lita had received her powers from, so she was able to help Nephrite teach Lita to strengthen them.

The training had been very hard on Lita. There were days when she simply was not feeling up to it, and Nephrite would push her to do it, which would get the two of them into fights. They would take it out on each other during the battle, neither one of them holding anything back. Lita could tell when Nephrite was very upset while they were in training. She knew, because Nephrite would hardly touch her. She figured that Nephrite was afraid he wouldn't be able to control his strength. Lita knew he had plenty.

There were also times when her training was physically hard. This happened more often in the beginning of her training. However, time went by, and it became easier. There were some days when the training was exceptionally hard, and Lita felt like collapsing on the ground when it was done. It was on these days when Nephrite treated her exceptionally well.

One day, Nephrite had pushed her to what he thought would be the limit. He knew he was risking it, but Lita was strong. He had her mother test Lita to see how much of the lightning Lita could stand. After a few moments, Lita cried out, and was pushed back. Nephrite got to her before she hit the ground, where he caught her. She was shaking, obviously in pain, so, with her mother trailing behind, Nephrite had carried Lita up to her bed. Lita had began to protested by the time Nephrite had got her to her bed, but she secretly love the way Nephrite was being. He had a look in his eyes that Lita had never seen before, from anyone. It was such concern— and something Lita refused to believe she was seeing, for her own sake.

Lita sat, thinking of all the training. She could tell that she was becoming stronger. She pulled the hair tie Nephrite had given her out of her pocket, and absentmindedly rolled it around in her hands. She sighed, looking at her roses. She knew she would have to go back inside soon, before people began to worry about her. She had snuck out when she woke up early from a restless night. She had quietly slid out of her bed— another thing Nephrite taught her, which was turning against him, was to be stealthy— and tiptoed her way past Nephrite, who had had a bed moved into Lita's room. She went to her closet, quickly changed, and crept out of the room. She knew what a light sleeper Nephrite was, and was quite surprised that Nephrite hadn't woken.

Lita pushed herself off the ground. She stretched, her muscles stiff from sitting in the same position for such a long time. She slid the hairpiece back into her pocket and began to walk back. Once she passed the gardens, she got up to the castle steps. There were columns on either sides of her, set up in an abstract fashion. They were scattered, and created quite an obstacle course.

As Lita walked, her steps slowed, as she began to feel strangely self-conscious. She looked around, feeling eyes on her.

Tanzanite had been watching Lita for nearly as long as she had been outside. Now, she began to walk back to the castle. Tanzanite knew that once she got inside, he wouldn't be able to get to her. _If. If _she got inside. Tanzanite had no intentions of letting her get that far. He saw as she walked through the columns. He stayed only a short ways away from her. Far enough that she wouldn't see or hear him, but close enough that he could get to her soon.

_Now is as good a time as any…_he thought.

As Lita slowed to a stop, and looked around. She tensed as she heard footsteps.

"Who is that?" she shouted. Hearing a sudden noise behind her, Lita spun around. She screamed as she saw a jagged blade come quickly to the side of her head.

A/N: Oooh, Star's first real cliffhanger! Mwahaha! Should I make you guys wait to see what happens? Hmm…


	11. Chp 10

Recap from last chapter:

"Who is that?" she shouted. Hearing a sudden noise behind her, Lita spun around. She screamed as she saw a jagged blade come quickly to the side of her head.

On with the show!

Chp 10

Nephrite stirred in his bed. Something was stopping him from sleeping, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He groaned, and sat up, brushing his hair out of his face. He looked over to Lita's bed to find it empty. He looked around the room, and found that her closet was slightly open. He knew that she had gone out of the room, so he was in no great hurry. He got up and ran his fingers through his hair, and changed his clothes. He stood around the room, not quite sure what to do. He went out onto Lita's balcony and stood there, scanning the gardens. He saw her finally, walking back to the castle. He was glad to see her, but he had every intention of scolding her when she got back. He shook his head and turned around to walk down the castle to meet Lita when she came up. He walked out, closing the door behind him, completely oblivious to the man who was quickly approaching Lita.

Lita ducked, just in time, as the blade nearly took of her scalp. The sword had been swung with such force, when it missed her, it had lodged itself nearly halfway into the column. Lita pushed herself up, jumping back. She stared at the man who had swung the sword. He was tall, built with muscles. He had white hair that went halfway down his back. He was in a white and blue suit (kind of Navy looking), which fit his build. He had large hands, and long nails, which resembled daggers more then anything else. His eyes were blue-gray. They were crazy, wild eyes that scared Lita.

The man looked over at Lita as he tried to pull the long sword out of the column.

"Hello, Lalita," he said, smiling.

Lita stared at him, shocked.

I know that voice—   
"You!" she shouted, pointing. "You're the one from the masquerade!"   
Pulling the sword out, he smiled, and bowed low. "You remember, princess. I am flattered." He stood up straight. "Now, if you give a damn about your life, I suggest you do more then make acquaintances," he said, raising the sword.   
Lita gasped and began to run, dodging her way through the columns, as Tanzanite ran at her with the sword.   
Remember your training, your training— she thought. He's got a fucking sword! She screamed inwardly. She did not have a sword, and she couldn't block one very effectively with her hands.   
Lita could hardly even focus on which direction she was running. She darted quickly behind a column, to take a breath. She sucked in the brisk air, trying to calm herself down. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she pulled out her hairpiece and tied her hair up into the ponytail. She looked up at the castle and found it to be not very far at all. If she could just get inside, she would be better off. It would be better to fight him, she knew.   
As she created a ball of white-hot energy in her hands, she heard Tanzanite chuckle right next to her ear. She quickly slid to the side of column, as the sword lodged itself into the column, directly where her neck had been only two seconds ago. Lita screamed again. She jumped away from the column and shot out the ball of lightning. Tanzanite looked up in surprise a second before the ball hit him. It knocked him back several feet, and he slid along the ground. He sat up after a second, brushing his hair out of his face.   
"You've already started your training, I see." He smiled. "Very well. I won't hold back if you won't." Tanzanite winked at Lita, and disappeared instantly.   
Lita gasped, and looked around. The grounds were completely silent, and there was no one but her.   
He said he wouldn't hold back— she thought. I doubt that means he's gone…   
Lita prepared to create another ball of energy in her hands. Before she could even create a spark, she heard a popping noise behind her, and she was knocked to the ground. Lita cried out, both in fear and pain as Tanzanite dug his dagger like nails deep into her sides. Lita felt a burning hot pain from the puncture, and her warm blood began to seep out. Tanzanite, who was keeping her down, a knee on either side of her, bent down so his face was next to hers.   
"Don't worry, love. It'll be quick, I promise. I won't even make you watch."   
Lita tried to struggle, but felt that all strength was leaving her. Numbness was spreading throughout her body from her abdomen.   
"What—" she whispered quietly. She hardly had enough strength to speak.   
"Poison," he said, a smile in his voice. "In my nails. I put my nails in a potion— put my nails in you— and the poison is in your blood stream. An easy enough three step process, and your limp as a doll. Makes it much easier to kill you."   
Lita winced as she saw Tanzanite pick up his sword. He moved her hair away from the back of her neck. Lita could do nothing as she felt Tanzanite softly place the jagged steel against her skin.   
"End of the line, princess." Tanzanite lifted the sword high, and brought it down with an immense amount of force.   
A/N: Is this really the end of the line? What will happen next? Mwahaha! Only I know! Keep an eye out for the next chapter! 


	12. Chp 11

Athena Kyle- Thanks for keeping up the reviews. I really appreciate it! And I just changed it so I can get anonymous reviews.

Serenitylovegod- Sorry I stopped it where I did; I'm not sure what to do yet! Thanks for the review!

Relyan- OK, Tanzanite didn't plan on using the poison at the time. But when he saw Lita would put up a fight, he thought of an easier way out. And he is twisted. Lita wouldn't have died from the poison though. Hmm… who said Nephrite would get there? … Thanks for the review!

MizzDL- Don't worry, I'm not going to let you down ;) Now hurry with _your_ story!

Chp 11

Nephrite walked down the long halls. He had become a bit apprehensive about Lita walking through the grounds alone, so he quickened his steps. He was walking up to one window and looked out. He looked down, scanning the grounds. He saw a flash of Lita walking through the columns. She disappeared for a moment, and Nephrite felt his heart skip a beat. He pressed his face against the glass so he could look down better. He couldn't see Lita through the thick cluster of columns, but he saw a quick flash of bright light. Nephrite recognized that as one of Lita's attacks. He pushed himself away from the window and sprinted down the corridor.

He ran past everyone, ignoring the few odd looks that he was given. He didn't stop for anything, running down long hallways and many flights of stairs. Finally he got to the front of the castle and flung the doors open. He stepped out and looked around, but did not see Lita anywhere. As he was frantically looking around, he drew his sword. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he heard Lita scream, her cries followed by hushed words. Nephrite dashed off in the direction he heard the sounds coming from, praying he wouldn't get there too late.

Nephrite quickly found Lita, who was pinned down under Tanzanite. She was not moving a muscle, only staring up at him. Nephrite watched as Tanzanite brushed Lita's hair away from the back of her neck, letting her locks fall against the floor. He himself felt immobilized as he watched Tanzanite raise his sword. Nephrite saw it all play out; the sword cutting through Lita's slender neck with a dull sound, her bright blood staining Tanzanite's clothes and the ground beneath her.

Nephrite shook his head, erasing the images from his mind.

_Don't let your imagination run away, _he thought. _Not now._

((For those of you who don't get it, Lita dying was all just in Nephrite's head))

Nephrite watched as Tanzanite lifted the sword. Remembering the images in his mind, Nephrite cried out in pure rage, and ran forward with his sword raised high. Tanzanite looked up at him, but his sword still fell. Nephrite sword made contact with Tanzanite's, a mere inch above Lita's neck. Nephrite pushed on Tanzanite's sword with force, and Tanzanite, not letting go of his weapon, was pushed off of Lita.

Tanzanite regained himself quickly, shaking away his surprise. He was mad at Nephrite for stopping him, but he knew he could just kill Nephrite instead. The potion he had used on Lita was gone, so he would have to rely purely on his fighting abilities, which was no great downfall for him. He rushed at Nephrite, and swung his sword.

Both Tanzanite and Nephrite fought skilled. Their abilities were perfectly matched, both equally as good. Tanzanite, with a burst of energy rammed his sword at Nephrite, knowing surely that his blow would be blocked, which it was. Nephrite was slammed against one of the columns. The two men were forced to stay in the position, the only moves they made were the shakes that were caused by their pushing. Nephrite, knowing it would cost him his balance, threw a kick out at Tanzanite, hitting him in the side. Nephrite fell to the ground and rolled away from Tanzanite, who fell against the column.

Nephrite took the chance to finish the fight. He ran at Tanzanite, and swung his sword with all the strength he had. Tanzanite glared back at Nephrite through his long locks.

And disappeared.

Nephrite, too far into the swing to stop, hit the column. Instead of his sword being wedged into the thick pillar of concrete, it sliced right through. Nephrite shielded his eyes as the column fell, creating a cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

Lita had been watching the fight— the parts of it that were in her range of view, at least. The numbness had spread through her entire body, and the only thing she could move were her eyes. She felt on edge throughout the whole thing. She surely would have been yanking her hair out, if she were not so physically restricted.

"Lita!" Nephrite yelled, and ran over to her. His feelings of concern and fear were quickly overcome by his temper. "What were you doing, lying on the ground? You know he could have killed—" Nephrite stopped, his voice falling. He knew Lita was aware of the consequences. If she could, he knew she would be yelling back at him by this point. He knelt down by Lita's side, where blood was staining her dress. He ripped at the already torn dress, just enough that he could see the wound. Nephrite stared at the punctures, which were surrounded by what looked like bruised skin. The skin was abnormally blue, and Nephrite suddenly understood.

"God—" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry Lita." He was apologizing both for yelling, and for not being by Lita's side when she needed him. He scooped Lita up in his arms and carried her towards the castle, where he saw a large number of curious bystanders watching the two of them. Nephrite felt Lita's eyes on him, but he could not look back at her. He could not let her see the pain in his eyes.


	13. Chp 12

Chp 12 

Lita laid on her bed, her mother sitting next to her, holding on of Lita's hands in both of hers. After the past two hours, Lita had been able to move her toes and fingers, and move her mouth enough to talk in short sentences.

The two girls had their eyes glued to the door. After bringing Lita in, Lita's father had called Nephrite into the next room to speak with him. They had been back there for hours, and neither Lita nor her mother had heard a word from them.

"He's going to send Nephrite away," Lita said, straining. Her speaking had become easier, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure whether or not her words would come out right until she heard them. Her stomach had been clenched the whole two hours. She was so certain her father would walk back into her room, Nephrite already on his way back to earth. "He'll be gone, and—"

"Hush, darling," her mother said. "Don't tire yourself. You don't know what your father will do, don't become upset so prematurely."

Lita stayed quiet, and stared at the door. As if on cue, the door opened. Her father walked into Lita's room, his face pale. Lita's heart skipped a beat when he was the only one who walked through. Lita was silent, no words coming to her mouth, nothing running through her head but Nephrite's face.

"We have to talk—" her father said, his voice strained. "About the next step that will be taken."

"Dad—" Lita started, but was hushed by her father raising his hand.

"Let me speak." He said in a commanding voice. "This is not easy for me to say, if you interrupt me, I will not be able to get it all out.

"Nephrite and I have decided that it would be best for him to go back to his home on Earth—" he looked Lita straight in the eye. "And for you to accompany him."

Lita felt her mouth drop, and she stared at her father in complete shock. She felt her mother squeeze her hand.

"No!" her mother shouted. "Absolutely not! I will not allow it!"

Lita's father walked over to his wife, knelt down in front of her, and took her hand. "Listen to me, love," he said. "It's for the best. We have reasoning for it."

Her mother laughed. "For the best? _You have reasoning! _Then please, do explain! I see nothing good in my daughter being brought to a strange planet, where she only knows one man. One man! One man, who almost caused her death today!"

"He didn't!" Lita yelled, feeling adrenaline rushing through her. It helped to jolt her muscles, and she pushed herself up slightly. "_I _was the one who went into the gardens alone! Nephrite saved me from Tanzanite!" She considered telling them how hard Nephrite fought for her, but she knew if her mother knew how close Nephrite had been to being beaten, she would not stand for having him around at all.

Her father gave her a knowing look. Surely Nephrite had told him the story. "He did," he said, looking back at his wife. "Tanzanite doesn't know where Nephrite is from, it would surely take him time to look to Earth. And then, that planet is so populated, he will have trouble finding them. If nothing else, Nephrite and Lita will both be stronger."

Lita's mother glared at her husband, then after a few moments, looked down at the floor. The way her face was set, and her breathing short, Lita knew she was deep in thought. Eventually, she looked over at Lita, who was now sitting upright. She could tell by the look in her eyes that her mother had made her choice.

"You think—" she said, her eyes looking deep into Lita's. "That you will be safe? Think on this, Lita."

Lita paused, looking into her lap, sincerely considering the situation. She looked back up at her mother, and nodded her head.

"Father has a good point— we have a better chance of evading Tanzanite if we're on new turf. Nephrite has grown up on Earth— he knows what he's doing there."

Lita's mother swallowed and nodded. After a moment of staring at Lita, she threw herself at her, hugging her tightly.

"He loves you," her mother whispered, directly in her ear. She was so quiet; Lita herself was straining in her ear. "He will protect you." Sensing Lita's doubt in her mother's words, she continued. "I see it in his eyes. I _know _this, Lita."

Lita turned her head and kissed her mother on her cheek. In turn, her mother kissed her on the forehead. She looked up at her husband.

"Dear, would you talk to Ella," she said, talking about one of her maids. "Ask her to alert Serena, Ami, Mina and Raye of Lita's leaving. I'm sure they will want to wish her off."

"Of course," he said, and turned on his heels and left.

Lita's mother turned back to her. She reached up to her ears, and began to take out her earrings. They were small, pink, rose earrings. Lita had seen her mother always wearing them; it seemed to be a part of her.

"You need these," her mother said. "They will help you with your training. They will give you more power— they will give you some of my own power."

She put the earrings in Lita's ears. "Take care of them." She sat back and looked at Lita, twirling her hair affectionately as she constantly did. She nodded, sighing, and walked out.

Lita heard several quick footsteps running up to her room. She looked at the door, a small smile for her friends, as they ran over to her.

Lita and Nephrite sat outside in the garden. Nephrite had thought Lita would want to see something familiar to her before they left. All of her friends had gone home before, and neither of her parents wished to stay there as they left. Lita was not hurt, though Nephrite was obviously upset by their decision. Lita knew that neither of her parents much enjoyed saying goodbye, nor did she. It was not something she had ever really been good at.

Lita reached out, lightly touching a petal of a bright red rose. The petal felt velvet soft under her finger, and for the first time it truly hit Lita. She was leaving her home. Leaving everyone and everything she had ever known. All she had was Nephrite— she completely had to trust him, and that fact scared her.

Lita sighed heavily, and brought her hand away from the rose.

"Are you ready?" Nephrite asked her softly. After a moment, Lita nodded. Nephrite stood up and gently pulled Lita up. "Like I told you," he said, referring to the instructions he had given Lita for the travel. Lita nodded, silent, and did as she had been told. She stepped closer to Nephrite and wrapped her arms around his neck. What would seem like a romantic embrace, was one that frightened Lita. She had lived independent, never allowing herself to be so close to one person. Now, Nephrite was all that she had, and she held on to him with her life.

Lita squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Nephrite moving around a bit. There was a loud ripping noise and Lita saw light come through her eyelids. She felt a strong, warm wind, and everything else became a blur.


	14. Chp 13

Chp 13 

Sorry it took long! Writers block!

On with the show!

Lita lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She had not done much else that day. She was feeling a bit homesick and awkward. Nephrite had not pushed her, which she greatly appreciated. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Nephrite sat on a sofa in his living room. He had his feet up on a table and was staring thoughtfully into space. A full, cold cup of coffee was in his hand. He had been listening for any sound coming out of the room Lita lay in. He had heard nothing for the past four hours. Not even a rustling sheet.

Nephrite set his cup down on the table quickly and sat up. He sighed, uneasy with what he was doing. He walked into the room Lita was in with slight hesitation.

Lita sat up slowly and looked at Nephrite.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes— I mean no—" he sighed. "Lita' I'm worried about you."

"Why? I'm fine."

"No. If you were fine you wouldn't be lying in here for hours, not saying a word. You would be up and about."

"Doing what?" Lita asked, sharply.

"I don't know!" he shouted. Seeing Lita winced, he lowered his voice. "Just— doing something."

"You said yourself I couldn't go out wearing what I have."

"Stop trying to find excuses," he said. He out of the room, and after several grunts, pushed quite a few heavy bags and boxes into the room. "You know I went out earlier. I got clothes. And shoes. And… a lot of other stuff the workers said I needed. Now you haven't got excuses. Get changed and we'll go somewhere."

"But—" Lita looked for any other excuses.

"Stop it, Lita. Have you left your home, your family, and your friends for no reason?"

Lita stared down at her blankets. She struggled not to cry, remembering the life she had left behind.

_"Never show your weaknesses,"_ Nephrite had told her once in training. She would be damned if she cried in front of him now.

Nephrite was surprised when Lita smiled up at him. She wiggled her ways out from under the covers, and walked over to the bags. Before bending down to inspect the bags, she came up on her tiptoes and hugged Nephrite. Her embrace surprised Nephrite. He put his hands on her back, but held back from holding her how he wanted to. He had taught her to never show any weaknesses— he couldn't have any of his own.

Lita pulled back and smiled at Nephrite.

"Thank you," she said, softly. She dropped down to her knees, looking through the bags. "Now, what'd you get?"

Tanzanite cried out in rage, his screams echoing in the vast room around him. He let out his frustration, shooting balls of energy out in every direction. His hair was wild, his eyes wilder.

He stormed over to his mirror and shouted 'Jupiter!' into it. He scanned the entire grounds, and found no sight of Lita.

"_Show her to me!_" he screamed. The mirror stayed blank. He screamed again in frustration.

"Hiding from me love?" he said out loud. "You have reason to. I'll kill you! _I'll tear you limb from limb!_" He leaned against his mirror, and stroked the cool glass, and his voice dropped, calm once more. "I'll enjoy it, love. I'll enjoy watching you bleed."

Ooooh, creepy foreshadowing! LOL I think it's only good at the end… OK, I'll try to update sooner then later! Review please!


	15. Chp 14

Chp 14

Lita and Nephrite walked through the busy park that lay in the middle of the city. People around them were running, skating, children were playing, babies were being pushed in strollers— it was a wondrous sight to Lita. Nephrite had always found the bustling park a bit annoying, but seeing Lita smile at all of it made him enjoy it all the more.

He looked at Lita, allowing himself to dwell for a moment on her beauty. She had her long hair pulled back loosely with a thin leather string. She was wearing a thick pink turtleneck, blocking the cold wind. She wore a dark, flowing denim skirt, which was slightly below her knees, and a pair of dark brown leather boots. Lita wasn't quite able to wear the tight denim pants Nephrite had purchased— the skirts were closest to what she was use to. Nephrite had actually mentioned to the sales clerk that the girl he was shopping for preferred skirts. He was relieved to see that the women were right, and Lita fit right in to the scene around her.

Nephrite watched Lita as she watched an old couple walk past them. The couple was elderly, probably in their late sixties. They walked hand in hand, neither of them speaking, but they looked to be completely content with each other. The woman looked up and greeted Lita with a smile and a nod. Lita returned the gesture, just before the couple passed them up.

"How sweet—" she sighed, looking ahead. Nephrite chuckled shortly. He felt rather awkward— he was trying to resist the urge to reach out and grab her hand. His hand twitched slightly, and he prayed silently that Lita hadn't noticed. The two sat down in a nearby bench.

"See?" Nephrite said, smiling at Lita. "Aren't' you glad you got out?"

Lita nodded. "I really am." She sighed and pulled her knees up on the bench. "You had a good point. It would have been awful of me to leave and put everyone through all of this for me to lie like a limp doll in bed. Plus… I like it here."

Nephrite smiled. "I'm glad you do." He looked up at the dark, cloudy sky. "But I think we ought to be on our way back. It looks like it will rain soon."

"Like it'll— what soon? What's rain?"

Nephrite blushed as a mother with her son walking by looked at Lita like she was crazy.

"Oh, rain—" I guess it makes sense you wouldn't know that. It doesn't rain on Jupiter. Well… rain… it's hard to explain… it's… uh… well, I won't get all scientific… but it's when the clouds let go of water… and little drops of water come down."

Lita smiled. "Why do we have to leave? I want to see that."

Nephrite grinned at her excitement. "You can. It'll just be cold, and we shouldn't be stuck so far away from home."

A roll of thunder rolled over head. Nephrite saw Lita's eyes glow as she looked up quickly, a smile on her face from the familiarity.

"It'll start soon!" Nephrite yelled over the noise of the wind that had picked up. Without a second thought, he grabbed Lita's hand and pulled her off the bench. "Let's get home!" The two of them, laughing, for some unsaid reason, ran along with the rest of the crowd in the direction of Nephrite's house.

Lita stood inside, looking out of the glass of Nephrite's sliding door that led outside. She had a cup of steaming cocoa in her hand, and a thick blanket draped around her shoulders. Nephrite turned the lights down low so they both could see the lightning better. He walked over to Lita and stood beside her, looking out the window.

"You don't want to go out?" he asked. He saw the curiosity in Lita's eyes.

"Yeah—" she said softly. She felt transfixed by the rain, like she could stay there for hours watching it.

Nephrite smiled. He reached around Lita to the door handle and pulled it open. Lita inhaled deeply. She loved the coldness of the air and the smell that the rain brought. Nephrite put his hand on her shoulder and took her cocoa cup and set it on the dresser. The two of them walked slowly outside.

Lita gasped as the cold rain hit her, then giggled slightly. Nephrite laughed, seeing her reaction. Lita turned her head up, her eyes closed, a serene smile on her face. She laughed slightly again and looked over at Nephrite. Her bangs were matted down on her forehead and her hair was darker from the water. Nephrite looked the same— his bangs clinging to his face and hanging down to his shoulders. He had an amused smile on his face as he watched Lita smiling at him.

"Lita—" Nephrite took a step towards her. He stood in front of her, stiffly. He looked as though he wanted to move towards her, but didn't know exactly what he would do when he did… or if what he wanted to do was the right thing. He envisioned himself taking her face into his hands. He wanted nothing more but to feel her soft lips under his.

Lita stared at Nephrite. She wanted so badly to fall into him— to hold him, and have him hold her. Lita lowered her eyes, letting out a breath she was not aware she had been holding.

Nephrite sighed. He felt awful. He couldn't bring himself to doing what he wanted, what he so longed to do. He knew he couldn't let even Lita know how he felt.

Nephrite looked up at the stormy sky. He didn't know what to do. He knew what he wanted— but knew that it was something he could never attain. He had lived his whole life his heart hardened, keeping out anything that threatened to come close. Now, Lita staring in front of him, he didn't know how long he could keep it up.


	16. Chp 15

Chp 14 

AN: I just got this idea! Yay! Hope you guys like it!

Amy sat at her desk. She had a chessboard laid out in front of her. She was only half concentrating on her game. Lita was on her mind for the most part. She wondered how her friend was doing on the strange, distant planet. Amy sighed and lifted her hand over the board, hesitating over one piece.

"No, no, that won't do," a deep voice said behind her. Amy's breath caught in her throat. Slowly she turned around. A tall man stood behind her. He had long, white, unruly hair, and wild gray blue eyes. "It would be a bad move," he said, smiling.

Amy opened her mouth wide to scream. The man glared at her for a short moment, and covered her mouth with his hand before she could make a sound.

"That as well would be a bad move," he said simply. He took Amy's elbow and stood her up. Amy, paralyzed by fear did not think to fight back. He walked her over to her bed where he sat her down. He kneeled down in front of her, taking his hand away from her mouth. Amy, who had her eyes squeezed shut, opened her eyes. She looked around to see that she was in an area that was completely unknown to her. It was a large, vast room, with nothing in it but a single mirror. A cold wind blue and she rubbed her bare arms. She looked up at the man who was looking down at her.

"No need to scream now," he said. "No one will hear you. Just me. So, scream, if you want. I quite like the sound."

Amy just stared at him. "What—?" she asked, struggling to find her voice.

"What— do I want?" he said, trying to help her out, in a very mocking way. "I want answers. You're a smart girl, Amy dear. Surely, you can give me a few simple answers.

"I want to know where a special little girl is. You know her quite well. Lita Kino," he saw Amy's eyes widen. "Won't you help me find her?"

Amy's gaze hardened. "You're Tanzanite."

Tanzanite clapped his hands. "Very good. I _knew_ you were a smart little girl."

"I am not telling you a thing," Amy said firmly.

Surprisingly, Tanzanite smiled. "Sure you will," he said. Tanzanite lunged out and struck Amy across the face. The blow caused her to cry out and fall back. She failed in catching herself, and landed hard on the ground. Tanzanite sighed and pulled out his jagged sword. He set the tip of it on the ground, twirling it back and forth, as though it were a toy. "You know, I really don't want to do it like this. But I will if I have to. I'm a determined man, you see. I get what I want, and how I get it—" he shrugged. "Well, that's something you learn to live with."

Tanzanite met Amy silence with a sharp kick. He watched as Amy slid across the floor from the impact. She groaned, facing the floor, and held her side where Tanzanite had kicked her. He walked over to her, grabbed her short locks, and pulled her head up. Amy stared up at him.

"I will ask you one more time. Then it won't be me that you feel," he said, lifting his sword. "I will then go to each of Lita's friends. Trust me, I will do it. you were not the first person I asked."

Amy gasped, thinking of Lita's parents.

"You are very bright," Tanzanite said. "Now, will you tell me where Lita is? Or must this silly thing continue?"

Amy was torn she didn't know what to do. There was the choice of Tanzanite going to Earth to find Lita, or the choice of having Tanzanite's killing spree continue. She swallowed, looking at the floor, lost in thought. A quick yank of her hair brought Amy to look up at Tanzanite. She stared him in the eye, her decision made.

"You test my patience," Tanzanite said, his voice raspy. "Now make your choice."

"I—" Amy started. "Don't know exactly—" she said honestly.

"But—?"

"I— can tell you— what I know."


	17. Chp 16

Chp 16

Lita sat in Nephrite's car, staring down at her feet. She was bent over, her breathing heavy, trying to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach.

"I never took you to be the type of person who would get car sick," Nephrite laughed, patting Lita on the back.

"I wouldn't feel like this if you didn't take all of these damn turns," she said sluggishly.

Nephrite laughed. He was finding all of this rather amusing. It made getting up early in the morning worth it. "Do you expect me to drive straight up the mountain? I promise you princess, you would hate that even worse."

Lita groaned. "You're heartless. Jerk," she lazily swung her arm out and hit Nephrite on the leg— tapped him on the leg, more like it. She was not in the mood for hitting.

Nephrite simply laughed. A few days before, Lita had seen the snow on top of a mountain in the distance, and she immediately knew she wanted to go. Nephrite said he wouldn't mind going, but he let her know the consequences. The long, winding drive, the cold weather, the slipping and sliding, and the uncomfortable cold wetness that builds up in your pant leg after you have sunk into the snow one too many times ((A/N: One of Star's bad experiences)). Lita had still insisted on taking the trip. So, they had woken up early to beat the daily traffic, packed extra pairs of clothes, food, sleds, and Lita's ice skates.

Lita was starting to regret pushing Nephrite into the trip. She had already gotten out of the car on their way up more then once. She needed to get a breath of fresh air. When she did, she was met with surprisingly cold, brisk air. She had shivered and after taking several deep breaths and hopped back in the car, always with her head between her legs after a few short minutes.

Nephrite rubbed Lita's back, in attempt to make her more comfortable. He sighed, in a mocking manor. "You know, I trained you on Jupiter. I've trained you on Earth everyday for— how long has it been? — three weeks. And a few twists and turns and you go jelly?"

Lita looked up at Nephrite. "You did not teach me to fight car sickness, thank you. You're the teacher. Looks like you fell short."

Nephrite patted her head in mock anger. "Funny. Funny girl. Now your true side comes out. I see how grateful you really are." He turned off the road, rather quickly, and took a little side road.

After a few minutes of Lita's protesting at Nephrite's reckless driving, they arrived at a secluded area. As Nephrite turned off the car, Lita looked around in awe. The pine trees were lush and green. The rocks that popped up here and there were covered in a smooth level of white, glittering snow. Past a cluster of pine trees, there was a frozen over lake. There were hills in the area, which were also covered with the bright white snow.

"Wow," was all she managed to get out. Nephrite looked over and smiled at her. The excitement in her eyes was like that of a child's on Christmas morning. She opened the car door and swung her legs over the side.

"Wait—" Nephrite started; his hand out. He had seen the way Lita got out of the car. She jumped out, landing with a thump on the ground. Not heavily, but he knew the snow would give out like tissue paper under her feet. His warning was too late. With a shriek, Lita landed in the soft snow. Her head disappeared from Nephrite's range of view. He leaned over into Lita's car door and looked down. He spotted Lita, the snow up to her hips. Nephrite bit his lip, trying to keep back the laugh he knew was coming.

"Don't you dare laugh!" Lita shouted, her voice threatening. That sent Nephrite over the edge. This young girl, whose lower half was lost in the snow, was not at all intimidating. Nephrite doubled over, clutching his sides, laughing. He continued to laugh hysterically as Lita grunted and groaned, failing time after time at getting herself out. Eventually, Nephrite wiped his eyes and got out of the car. Having been in the snow many times, he knew how to level his weight, keeping himself from ending up in the same predicament Lita was in. In no rush, he walked around to the back of the car and took out the two sleds. He left the car unlocked, closed the door securely, and then walked around to Lita. She had a hold of the car and was trying in vain to pull herself up. Seeing Nephrite feet, she glared up at him.

"Well? Come on!" She yelled. "Aren't you going to help me?"

Nephrite looked down at her, his head cocked. "No. No, I don't think I will."

"_What_!"

"Think of it as training. You are in a desperate situation. I can't help you. What are you going to do?"

With a rush of rage and adrenaline, Lita pulled herself up. Nephrite, surprised by Lita's movements gaped at her.

"Um— Li—" he laughed nervously, noticing her glare.

"What am I going to do? I'm going to kick your ass is what I'm going to do!" she shouted. Without risking sinking again, Lita jumped onto Nephrite, tackling him. Nephrite, surprised, and laughing to hard to do much else, Nephrite fell back, holding onto Lita. As fate would have it, they landed onto one of the sleds. Nephrite, feeling the movement, grabbed onto the sled with one of his hands to keep his balance, and held on tighter to Lita to keep her from flying as they went down the steep hill. Nephrite was laughing so hard, making his sides hurt. In between shrieked, Lita laughed as well, finding his laughter contagious.

They reached the bottom of the hill, and spun a few times, finally coming to a stop. Both were laughing uncontrollably, neither moving from the position. Lita, the first to stop, smacked Nephrite on the arm.

"You weren't controlling that! You could have killed us!" she yelled, still smiling.

Nephrite smiled and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, princess. I'm taking care of you."

Lita stared at him for a moment, then smiled. Both were experiencing the same feeling they had the first night it rained. Lita had thought about it every night. Each night since then it had rained, and Lita would look out onto the porch where they had stood, the whole scene replaying as though she were watching it through someone else's eyes.

Nephrite, breaking the silence cleared his throat. He sat up and scooted over. Lita, getting the hint, slid off him and sat down on the half of the sled he had left empty.

"Come on," he said, scooping up snow in his hands. "Help me make a snowman."

After hours of playing in the snow; building snowmen, destroying each other's snowmen, going up and down the hill, having numerous snowball fights, and taking a break to eat, Lita had the urge to skate. Though Nephrite accompanied her, he refused to get on the ice.

"I'd spend the whole time on my butt, at the very best." He had said.

Now Lita was skating back and forth around the area of the lake they were in. nephrite was blown away by her abilities. She skated perfectly, with such ease. She looked beautiful out on the ice. Her face was set with such happiness and tranquillity.

"where did you learn to skate like that?" Nephrite asked.

"My mom taught me," Lita said, absentmindedly touching her earrings. "When I started my training. She said if I could balance in ice-skating, I could do it pretty much anywhere. And I always watched my mom do it. I admired her so much, I wanted to do everything she did."

Nephrite smiled. "She certainly did teach you well."

Lita smiled up at him and nodded. She skated over to him and held out her hand. "Sure you won't come out?"

Nephrite shook his head. "I didn't even bring skates. Plus, I would probably be taking you down so much, you'd hate me for getting out there."

Lita laughed and started skating away. About fifteen feet away from him, Lita slowed to a stop, her eyes on the ground.

"Nephrite?" she asked. Nephrite was brought to attention, noting the fear in her voice.

"What is it?" he said, standing up straighter.

"The ice—"

Nephrite looked down at the ice. He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. The ice had turned an unnatural blue, getting brighter, as though the color was rising.

"That's not— normal, is it?" Lita asked, not moving.

Nephrite knew she knew the answer. "Lita— get over here. Get off the ice." He had to stop himself from going out onto the ice to get her. He didn't want to risk breaking the ice, if that could happen.

Lita slowly moved backwards. The line from her skates became a bright blue color, as the ice turned even brighter. There was a loud sound, like nails on a chalkboard. Nephrite took a step, but stopped himself. There was nothing natural about the color the ice was turning, which worried Nephrite. A spot beneath Lita turned from a bright blue to gray. Lita gasped.

"Lita!" Nephrite screamed. His cries could do nothing as the ice cracked and Lita plummeted into the freezing water.


	18. Chp 17

Last chapter… 

Nephrite knew she knew the answer. "Lita— get over here. Get off the ice." He had to stop himself from going out onto the ice to get her. He didn't want to risk breaking the ice, if that could happen.

Lita slowly moved backwards. The line from her skates became a bright blue color, as the ice turned even brighter. There was a loud sound, like nails on a chalkboard. Nephrite took a step, but stopped himself. There was nothing natural about the color the ice was turning, which worried Nephrite. A spot beneath Lita turned from a bright blue to gray. Lita gasped.

"Lita!" Nephrite screamed. His cries could do nothing as the ice cracked and Lita plummeted into the freezing water.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Chp 17

On the other side of the lake, Tanzanite was kneeling down on the snow. He was hidden perfectly in the snow-covered trees. His hands were poised as in a prayer, yet the look of him was rather demonic. His hair was floating up, as though being lifted by a soft wind. His eyes were pure black. There was a wispy light blue aura around him. He was muttering something under his breath, repeatedly.

He watched through his empty black eyes as Lita skated away from Nephrite, laughing. When she was a ways from him, the change in the ice had started to become noticeable. His spells were turning it bright blue, and intensely hot. Hot enough to melt through the thick layer of solid ice. He watched with a sick, giddy glee as Lita broke through the ice. He imagined how her body must have felt, being consumed in the searing hot water. He knew the immediate change from the extremely hot water to the extremely cold water could send her into shock, and she would sink unconsciously to the bottom of the deep lake.

Nephrite, not caring whether or not he fell through the ice, ran to the spot where Lita fell through. His swiftness kept him from slipping. Just before he reached Lita, her head popped out of the water, gasping air. Nephrite slid to a stop in front of her and reached for her pale hands, which were gripping at the ice. A mere inch from her and Lita disappeared once again under the water. It was the way she had gone under was unsettling to Nephrite. She looked as though she had been pulled.

Tanzanite cursed under his breath as he saw Lita's head pop back up. Nephrite was close to her— uncomfortably close, as far as Tanzanite was concerned. He would have none of that— he wouldn't have blood on his hands, spending weeks doing nothing but look for Lita, all to have this troublesome man ruin everything. Tanzanite made a quick downward movement with his hands, and Lita quickly disappeared once again under the ice.

"Lita!" Nephrite shouted again. He plunged his hand deep into the water, fishing around for Lita in the dark water. The logical part of him assured him to stay out of the water, that jumping in would do no good. He caught a glimpse of one of her hands, as she battled against contracting muscles, trying to work her way to the top. Right before Nephrite could grab her, something pushed him back. It was no shove; it felt to Nephrite as though an explosion had gone off. His hand burned, as though he had stuck it in fire. The blow had sent him flying through the air. Nephrite cried out as he hit the solid ice hard. His back was throbbing from the impact, and for a moment, he wondered whether or not he could move. Ignoring the morbid thought, Nephrite willed his battered body to get up. In one quick, but surely awkward, movement, Nephrite was back on his way to Lita. A movement to the side of him caught Nephrite's attention. Still running, trying to close the distance between Lita and himself, Nephrite glanced to the side.

His fears were confirmed, as he saw Tanzanite standing up slowly. The man looked truly menacing, for a second it scared Nephrite, as though he was a child, staring at the closet door that was slightly ajar in the middle of the night. Before disappearing, Tanzanite let off a bright glow. It looked like a blast, and Nephrite flinched, fearing that it would throw him off course again. Unknown to Nephrite, the hole in the ice set off the same type of glow. The light momentarily blinded Nephrite, but nothing else happened. Nephrite slid to his knees, by the hole. Ready to reach in again, he stared in horror as the hole froze over. It happened at an unnatural speed, yet it was agonizingly slow for Nephrite.

"No!" he screamed, and began to bang his fists at the ice. Even with the incredible amount of force behind Nephrite's blows, the ice would simply crack, and quickly rearrange itself. "No!" he shouted again, trying in vain to crush the ice.

Lita tried desperately to get to the top of the hole. It seemed that each time she was nearly there, her muscles would spasm from the extreme cold. Her skin felt as though it was being repeatedly being stabbed with needles. Nephrite had stuck his hand in, and Lita had swum up as quickly as she could in hopes of grabbing it. As soon as she came close, Nephrite's hand quickly disappeared, and she saw his blurry image vanish. Lita felt like crying out in despair, but she didn't have the breath. Lita kicked her legs frantically to get back to the top. She reached the top and took a deep breath of air, but was pulled under instantly. Determined, knowing she was running out of energy, Lita tried desperately to reach the top. Seconds before the tips of her fingers broke to the surface, the top layers of the ice began to turn solid. Again, Lita saw Nephrite's face come back over. His face had become so blurry through the ice, he was nothing more than a mass of colors. Lita saw Nephrite moving about, and she hoped he was figuring out some way to get Lita out. Unfortunately, from her position, she could do nothing but wait.

Lita wanted to stay as close to the top as she could, but she was being forced down. The ice was rapidly becoming thick and coming down in long, jagged, sharp icicles. Lita looked down, searching for the lake floor. She was startled to see how close it was. It was still a good 18 feet down, but she knew the ice was coming down so rapidly, she knew if Nephrite couldn't get her out soon, she would either die from lack or air, or be crushed to death by the forming ice. Lita turned back up, and let out a silent scream of pain as one of the sharp pieces of ice pierced her shoulder. She jerked away from it before it could go straight through her shoulder. She watched the watery blood seep out of her shoulder as she was forced to go down further.

Nephrite was becoming frantic. He was seeing less and less of Lita as the ice thickened. He still tried desperately to brake the ice. Nephrite looked around frantically for something besides his bruised fists he could use to brake the ice. Knowing it would be the outcome, he found nothing. Nephrite stared at the ice, lost. He snapped his head up suddenly, and held out his hand to the side.

"Sword!" he shouted.

Nephrite's sword appeared, glowing in his hands. Nephrite knew he had to calm down for his weapon to work accurately. He took several deep, shaking breaths.

_That's taking too much time,_ he thought. He placed the tip of the sword down on the ice and closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. Nephrite's eyes snapped open, as he pushed down on the sword. It glowed with a white-hot light as it worked its way through the ice, melting it. Nephrite's body shook with from the amount of force he was using to push the sword down. He heard ice breaking around him, and water squirting up from the cracks. Nephrite only pushed down harder.

Nephrite scarcely noticed as the ice beneath him gave away. Being submerged in the water snapped his back to his senses. The water was a surprisingly warm temperature. He damned him self for not being able to control his powers better. Another change in the water temperature could send Lita into a shock. Nephrite held onto his sword with one hand and swam downwards. He ignored his stinging eyes and looked around for any sign of Lita. After what seemed like forever, Nephrite caught a glimpse of something white. Nephrite recognized it as Lita's coat and he swam towards it.

Nephrite finally reached Lita, who was lying on the floor of the lake. As though sensing him, Lita opened her eyes. She refused to believe that it was really Nephrite swimming towards her, but when he grabbed her pale arm, she knew that he was real. Nephrite began to kick upwards, bringing them both up back to the surface. Lita's lungs burned from lack of air, and she started to kick her own legs, trying to speed up the process of breaking through the water.

Nephrite saw the top of the water, and for a moment, expected it to freeze over again. Nephrite yanked up the arm that was holding Lita, getting her to the top of the water quickly. Breaching the surface, Lita coughed and took in a deep breath. The cold air stung her face, and the brisk air hurt her chest, but it was better then nothing at all. Nephrite popped up besides her and took in a deep breath. Nephrite looked over at Lita, surprised to find her crying. Her shoulders were shaking, and she was making no attempt to silence her sobs. Nephrite closed the foot distance between himself and Lita. He pulled her over to the side of the lake, which they were only yards from. Keeping himself anchored on the ground, Nephrite pulled Lita close to him.

"You're okay now." He panted, holding onto her tightly. "You're okay."


	19. Chp 18

A/N: What happened to my reviews? I don't write well without that extra little push from my readers! I must thank Athena Kyle though! The one who constantly reviews! You keep me writing!

I hope you guys will like this chapter! I've been wanting to write it for a while!

Chp 18

Lita sat on her bed, heavy blankets draped around her shoulders. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. The storm raged on outside, a steady rain, but Lita paid it no mind. She had to many other things to think about.

_How did he find us?_ She thought. _How in the hell could he have possibly known? He had us right down to the exact location. The very spot._

Lita sighed deeply. When Nephrite had pulled her out of the water, she couldn't help but cry. She felt so weak after wards. That was something she would have to work on. No tears.

Lita shivered remembering that day's previous events. She and Nephrite had both lay on the shore of the lake, shivering in each others arms, both trying to keep each other awake, yet neither of them strong enough to use. A group of men who had gone hiking had found them and pulled them out of the lake. Without asking questions, they had pulled them out, tried their best to warm and dry them as they called ambulances. Lita and Nephrite had been rushed to the hospital, and released later that day.

Now Nephrite was walking somewhere around the house, and Lita was unable to sleep, though he had urged her to do so. Lita had too much on her mind to sleep. She didn't even feel a bit tired. Lita sighed and kicked off the blankets as Nephrite walked into her room.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I just— can't sleep. I can't even lie down. I feel to restless."

"I wish you would try to sleep."

"I know you do. And I'm sorry. But I just am not tired at all." She walked pat Nephrite into the living room.

"Well, what do you want to do? Watch TV? Go for a drive? What?"

Lita felt on the edge of tears, but she wasn't sure why. "I don't know." Her face displayed a cool demeanor, but her voice was shaking, betraying her.

Nephrite came over and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong Lita?"

Lita opened her mouth, but couldn't think of what to say. She stood in the spot, her shoulders tight, her hands in fists, willing herself not to cry.

"You—" she started. "You got hurt. You could have—"

"Stop," Nephrite said, squeezing her shoulder slightly. "I did get hurt, but I'm fine. Both of us are, thank God. It's not something you need to worry so much about."

"Not something I need to worry about! Nephrite, you're in this because of me!" she continued to shout, unaware of the thunder that rumbled with her words. "Tanzanite is after _me_, and you just got the wrong end of the straw, and got thrown into it! If anything happens to you, it's _my_ fault!"

"Don't be stupid Lita. None of this is your fault."

"It's _all_ my fault! It will all be my fault! If you die—" Lita couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn't get the words out. _If you die before— before you tell me—_

"Lita, nothing is your fault, and whatever happens to me won't be your fault." Nephrite was confused. He understood that Lita was upset, but he could tell that there was something more to it.

Lita sighed, massaging her temples with her fingertips. "I can't do this," she muttered. She walked over to Nephrite's sliding door and pulled it open, and walked out, straight into the rain. She felt like running, but the rail around Nephrite's porch prevented her from going. And she wasn't up to jumping. She wasn't in the mood for any great leaps. Lita gripped the edge of the railing and tried to control her breathing as the rain poured down on her. She heard Nephrite come out behind her and closed the door behind him.

"Lita! You need to talk to me!" Nephrite yelled over the loud rain.

"I can't!"

"Yes you can! You need to, I'm the only one you've got here!" _Please_, he thought. _Please, I need you to talk to me._

"I don't know what to say, Nephrite!"

"Well, we're not getting anywhere with this!"

"You're the one who wanted to talk!" she shouted, turning around.

Nephrite took a step towards her. "What do you want me to say?"

Lita was battling tears. She took a breath, preparing to say what was coming out of her mouth next. "Say you love me!"

Nephrite stared at Lita, completely caught off guard. He never thought he would say it out loud. He walked forward and held her arms.

"You know I do," he said. Ignoring every rational thought screaming inside his head, he listened to the only thing that seemed to make sense to him; his heart. "I love you. You know I do." Nephrite slid his arms around her back and pulled her close to him. He kissed her.


	20. Chp 19

Chp 19

A/N: So many reviews last chapter! Thank you all!

Nephrite saw Lita, lying on the ground in a pool of bright, crimson red blood. Tanzanite stood above her, staring down at her as if she was nothing more than a mere insect. Lita lifted herself up as much as she could. She grabbed onto Tanzanite's pant leg, as her eyes poured out tears of blood. Nephrite heard her begging for her life. Nephrite tried in vain to get to her, but it felt as though his body was made of stone. He called out to her, screaming her name. Tanzanite seemed to be the only one who heard him. He looked up at Nephrite and smiled.

Tanzanite knelt down in front of Lita. He stroked back her bangs in an almost affectionate way. He took her head in both of his hands, and Lita started to sob. Nephrite was screaming out, mindless words. He knew just what was going on. He could tell by Lita's whimpering that she knew as well.

Nephrite's stomach clenched and he felt bile rising to his throat as he heard the bones in Lita's neck crack. He saw her skin rip as the fragments of bone poked through. Her eyes rested on him, a helpless look in her eyes. He could read everything in her eyes. She had been counting on him, and at the end, she knew there was nothing he could do. Her eyes became blank, her mouth open slightly, and her empty eyes stayed on Nephrite.

Nephrite cried out and bolted up in bed. He was breathing heavy, droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. His blankets were wound tightly around him, and he was gripping the edges of his sheets with white, shaking hands. He jumped out of bed, ripping the sheets off. He ran across the room, and down the hallway. He pushed open the door to Lita's room, and ran in. It took him a moment to register the sight completely. Lita was lying on her bed, asleep. Her breathing was calm; her sleep undisturbed.

Nephrite forced himself to calm his heavy breathing. He held onto the doorframe, bent over. His knees felt week, and he let himself slide to the floor. On his knees, he bent over, clutching his sides. He hardly noticed when the sheets rustled.

"Nephrite?" a soft voice said. Nephrite's head snapped up and he looked at Lita. Her worried face was blushed with sleep, but her vibrant green eyes were alert. She swung her feet over the side of her bed. "What's wrong? Are you OK?"

Nephrite offered her a small smile and stood up, though he was painfully aware of how obvious his shaking was. "I'm fine," he said in a voice that wasn't the least bit convincing. "Just— checking on you."

Lita looked at him for a moment before sliding out of bed. Nephrite held out his pale hand, stopping her.

"No," he said. "Don't get up. I'm sorry I woke you. Don't pay attention to me, just get back into bed."

After another moment of staring at Nephrite, Lita climbed back into her bed. Nephrite walked over and sat on the edge of her bed as she settled herself under the blankets. It was all Nephrite could do to stop himself from throwing himself onto her, holding her tight. He knew; way back in his mind that he had been dreaming. It was just too real, and Nephrite had to see for himself that Lita was all right.

"Won't you tell me what's wrong?" Lita asked.

Nephrite smiled, brushing back Lita's hair. "There's not much to tell. I had a bad dream, that's all. It's silly, but I had to make sure you were all right." He bent down and kissed her forehead lightly. "Try to sleep." He walked out of Lita's room and closed the door behind him.

Lita sighed and turned onto her side, looking at the shadows the rain cast on her floor. She had the hardest time falling asleep when someone told her to. Like her subconscious had to be defiant. Lita mentally counted the days in her head. It had been two months since she had been brought to Earth, a month since Tanzanite attacked, and a month since Nephrite first kissed her.

Lita rolled onto her back, thinking about Nephrite. She recalled a day when she had been visiting Serena on the moon. Prince Endemion had come on some business, and, as fate would have it, he ran into Serena. Fate had it this way at least once a week, and at every ball. Lita had enjoyed watching Serena and Endemion from a window. She could see that the two were in love. The gentleness of their kiss had caused Lita to blush and turn. She giggled as young Hotaru had asked Serena what a kiss tasted like, but secretly, she was interested in hearing the answer.

"Well—" Serena had stuttered, blushing. "It tastes— sweet, I guess. Right?" she asked, turning to Mina. Mina blushed and nodded as well, though it had seemed half-hearted to Lita. She wondered if Mina actually ever had a real kiss.

Lita blushed at the memory. She thought about her first kiss with Nephrite. It truly was sweet. Nephrite's kisses were so filled with passion; it always had the same effect on Lita. The sweet taste of sugar candies, the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach, the feeling that they were surrounded by nothing else, and that nothing else mattered. A smile on her face, Lita allowed her mind to drift as she fell asleep.

Lita and Nephrite were lying on Nephrite's floor, leaning over a checkered board game. Throughout their childish games, they made up rules to help them win, and made up rules to beat the other person. They were laughing through the whole thing, their pieces ending up in the oddest places ((no, perverts!)). Nephrite had had the game since he was young, so most of the pieces were gone, and replaced by things like scraps of paper, M&M's, and marbles, which were rather hard to work with. They both were looking at the board now, Lita planning her next move. She moved one of her M&M's over Nephrite's blue paper, and began moving her piece all over the board, laughing.

"Hey!" Nephrite shouted, laughing. "Stop cheating!" He playfully scrambled Lita's pieces, trying to push her hands away as she tried to stop him.

"_You're _cheating!"

"You've gotten ahead, you'll live."

They both laughed, trying to move each other's hands and game pieces. They forgot the game as they concentrated and a wrestling match with each other.

Lita stopped squealing as she heard a sudden silence outside.

"Wait—" she said. "Did the rain stop?"

Nephrite looked up. "No. You've got to be kidding me." Nephrite and Lita had spent the better part of an afternoon setting up sandbags as a protection from the oncoming storm.

Lita wiggled her way out from under Nephrite and ran to the door. She slid it open and stepped outside.

"It's so dark!" she yelled as Nephrite stood up. Lita looked around a bit more. "It— _is_ raining. Just not here." She turned back to Nephrite and pointed. "It's raining just down the street! All around us! Just not—"

Lita paused. She knew something was wrong with this. Nephrite knew as well, and his stomach clenched in fear. He took a step towards Lita, and walked outside. He was met with a foul stench, like decaying meat. He reached out and put a hand on Lita's shoulder.

"Come on, just get back inside." He said.

Before Lita could take a step, a loud noise came from above them. It sounded like a million screams. Lita and Nephrite both clapped their hands over their ears, unaware of the cloud of beasts that was quickly descending on them.


	21. Chp 20

Chp 20

A/N: It seems like the only time that I get more than 1 review is when I threaten to stop writing. Come on people! I wish now that I chose a different title for the story. However, if I were to change it now, I don't know that people would recognize it as the story it is. So, just pretend now that the title is "Remember When it Rained". That's more fitting.

Nephrite was doubled over with his hands over his ears. The loud sound stopped him from thinking like he should. He realized suddenly that the foul stench was becoming even more potent. Nephrite winced as he uncovered his ears and grabbed Lita. He pulled her quickly, and, still holding onto her, jumped backwards into his house. He pushed her behind him, and pushed the glass door closed. This brought down the volume of the noise. Nephrite stood up with Lita. The screaming suddenly stopped and there was a loud crash outside, followed by the sound of rain.

"What was that?" Lita asked. Nephrite silently shook his head. He reached his arm across Lita, grabbed her shoulder, and began to walk backwards, forcing her to do the same.

"It's not gone, whatever it is," he said, his voice low. "It can't be over that quickly."

Nephrite and Lita stood in the hallway, and peered around the doorframe. Everything was silent, both inside and outside the house. They stood there like that for a few silent minutes. The silence seemed more of a threat than comfort.

"Maybe it's—" Lita began to speak, but Nephrite put a finger to her mouth, silencing her. He bent down to her, getting as close as he could, keeping his eyes on the glass door. His mouth directly next to her ear, he spoke in a voice hardly audible.

"They moved," he whispered. "When you spoke, they moved."

Suddenly the glass door shattered. Nephrite pushed Lita further into the hallway as to avoid the flying glass. They stood there, their backs against the wall. The house was doused in the smell of rotting meat. Nephrite and Lita heard the things moving around in the house. They moved heavily, making the floor tremble beneath them. The things made a deep rumbling noise that frightened Lita beyond anything else. ((I can't describe it really, but it's the noise that the girl in the movie "The Grudge" makes.))

Nephrite was looking to his right, keeping an eye on the living room. He saw a shadow moving across the wall opposite of him; getting bigger, as it came closer. Lita, who was watching it as well, heard a noise to her left. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked over. She saw nothing at first, only darkness. She stared at it for a moment longer, until the smell hit her. The odor came over her suddenly, like a wave. Lita was startled by it, and jumped back. Nephrite felt the sudden movement, and turned to her.

"What—" he asked, but was cut off. Quicker than she could even scream, Lita was pulled into the darkness. "Lita!" Nephrite yelled, forgetting the whole stealthy approach. He made a move towards Lita direction, but he was quickly yanked in the opposite direction. Struggling against the cold, large hands that were pulling him, he extended his right arm, and called for his sword. He swung it behind him and felt it make it's way through flesh. Being released, Nephrite fell to the ground.

Nephrite jumped up quickly and ran towards the hallway. He was blind to everything around him, and didn't notice the large creature that flew at him until it was on top of him. It threw him to the ground, and fell on top of him, in what felt like an attempt to crush him. Nephrite heard Lita scream down the hall. He struggled recklessly under the thing that held him down. He didn't care how he got the thing off, or what happened to him in the process. He just had to get to Lita. Nephrite tirelessly tried to push the thing off him. It was twice his size, probably more than twice his weight and the thing had anchored itself down to the floor. Nephrite jabbed his sword upward into the thing, and it screeched loudly. It cut Nephrite's arms and chest as it was pushed up. Nephrite drove his sword deep into the thing's chest, ignoring the hot sting from his cuts. He could only think of Lita.

Nephrite quickly scrambled to his feet. Quickly, he reached the hallway, and stopped suddenly. He saw one of the huge creatures in front of him, holding an unconscious Lita. It had one of its giant arms around her chest, holding her tightly, and the other hand by her head. It's long, sharp nails rested on her neck nonchalantly. Nephrite stared at the thing, really looking at one of them for the first time.

It was tall, that much he knew already. It was a good nine feet tall, and packed with muscles. His chest was bare; he was wearing only a pair of tattered pants. He had long, unruly hair down to his waist. His body was pale, and he had bright, golden eyes. He had black, crow-like wings that sprouted out from his back. Glancing behind him, Nephrite saw that he looked more human than the other things, which looked like beasts with wings. He looked back at the thing holding Lita.

"This place was so filled with power," it said in a deep, rough voice. "We knew it had to be the one."

"The one?" Nephrite asked. He was not for the idea of striking up conversation with this thing, but he hoped it would keep its attention off Lita.

"The one Tanzanite meant for us to reach."

Nephrite's blood felt like ice. Of course Tanzanite was behind this. "He sent you here."

"Yes. To kill you, or the girl. It didn't matter to him which one we took." The thing stared at Nephrite for a moment more, then shifted Lita in his arms so he was holding her differently; one arm under her legs, and the other at the small of her back, keeping his long nails dangerously close to the vein in her neck. "Tanzanite — has no passion for his work. I don't understand that. I rather enjoy my work."

"Your work?"

The creature smiled at Nephrite. "Killing." He looked from Nephrite down to Lita. "Tanzanite doesn't care which of you dies, how you die. Matter of fact, he thought this girl was dead. Silly man didn't bother to check. He takes no pride in his work, finds no pleasure in it." He smiled. "But I do."

"Let go of her," Nephrite growled.

The creature laughed and looked up at Nephrite. "That is what I love about it! Distressed lovers, truly terrified in the last moments, when life dangles by a thread in the middle. Loosing a loved one seems to be a constant fear of humans. What a curse, to feel such a fear. Best to never have the love than to watch it wither, wouldn't you agree?"

Nephrite realized that the creature was doing all of this because he knew Nephrite loved Lita. He took pleasure out of it because he knew what a great loss it would be for one of them to loose the other.

"You're mistaken," Nephrite said, his voice firm. "I don't love her."

The creature laughed loudly. "Don't love her? I can feel how much you love her! I could feel the love between the two of you before I even stepped into this house! Don't try to trick me, give me more credit than that."

Lita opened her eyes slowly and looked up at the creature. She gasped, and tried to get away from the thing, but it held her tight, its nails pressing slightly against Lita's skin. She looked over at Nephrite at out of the corner of her eye.

"Hello deary," the thing said. "Glad to see you awake." He looked up at Nephrite. "Now, this makes a dilemma for me. Which one of you do I kill?" He sighed, as though he was deep in thought. "I know. He set Lita up right, but held onto her shoulders. "I'll let the two of you go. I'll give you a head start, how does that sound? One minute to run. Then I'll catch up to you. Whoever I get to first— well, that'll just be whom I'll kill."

He let go of Lita and gave her a slight push towards Nephrite. She walked over to Nephrite keeping her eyes on the creature. Nephrite reached out for her and pulled her towards him. They both stared at the creature, confused, not sure exactly what to do. The creature smiled and put his hands behind his back.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "Run."


	22. Chp 21

A/N: To answer some stuff from you, my readers…

Leeza- Thanks for the compliments, so glad you love the story. The love is pure, you will see more of that later, though it may not always be perceived that way. I'm updating as fast as possible.

Sailor Millenium- I'll tell you only this much, no one dies this chapter. I didn't put a lot of things that will/ have been in the story. That doesn't mean it will end tragic, and it doesn't mean it won't. I know in chapter 20 it was gory imagery, but I won't change it. It was a nightmare, nightmares suck. I know some of my stuff is violent, but I can't have a rainbow and bunnies ending. It's simply the way I write. I'm not following the "official" SM guidelines at all with my story. . I don't think lack of "Crystal Power"s has anything to do with the attractiveness of my story. I resent that remark.

Fantasy of Wonder- I didn't call it a tragedy, that's true. That means nothing. Don't start guessing after that remark, you may be wrong.

Athena Kyle- Neither of them has any intentions on letting the other die. They love each other a great amount, and will do whatever is necessary to keep the other alive. Yes, you're right, battle coming up.

We're winding down a bit, readers. I have about… five chapters left, give or take. I hope you guys will like the ending, I don't think it will be expected. Now… ON WITH THE SHOW!

Chp 21

Nephrite flew ((not literally)) down the street, pulling Lita by the hand. They ran, pelted by the rain. Nephrite didn't know if the monster chasing them was simply playing a game of cat and mouse, but he wasn't about to take the chance.

"Nephrite!" Lita yelled against the sound of the rain. "What are we going to do?"

"Keep running!" Nephrite yelled back.

After only a second more of running, Lita and Nephrite heard a familiar screeching sound. Still running, Lita looked back. Nephrite refused to.

"Nephrite—!" Lita yelled, sounding like a warning.

"I know! _Keep running_!" Nephrite somehow found the strength to get his legs to move faster. He was fighting against the odds. Even more, he was fighting against the inevitable. He knew these foul creatures were coming in, fast.

Nephrite and Lita felt the ground tremble beneath them, and they were both pushed forward several feet. Both of them lost their balance and landed hard on the ground, about twenty feet from each other. One of the creatures hovered in the air in front of them. It looked slightly more human than the others did, but not as human as the one who had held Lita. He began to descend slowly to the ground, a smug look on his face. Before his feet could touch the wet pavement, he was met with a blast of white-hot electric energy. After he regained his composure, he snarled at Lita. He knew it was her; he could see the power still burning in her eyes.

He laughed maniacally as he planted his feet on the ground. "Feisty little thing," he said, a twisted smile over coming his face. He looked over at Nephrite and gave him a crude wink. "She'll be fun."

Nephrite stood up on shaking legs. "You will not touch her!" He yelled, his voice dripping with hatred. Lita looked over at Nephrite, a chill going down her spine. She knew the threat was for Lita's protection, but his voice, his face— so full of hatred, more than she had ever seen. Nephrite felt her staring at him and looked over. He saw the look of fear on her face, and knew it was on his account. As if Lita knew the thoughts running through his mind, she shook her head. Nephrite and Lita looked back over at the creature, which did not understand the brief exchange between the two.

"I want touch her. Not me," he bowed, a very regal gesture. For a moment, Lita was caught in confusion, and she thought the thing was bowing to her. "Mael."

A wave of realization hit Lita a moment before she felt a clawed hand grab her shoulder. She cried out in pain as the creature's nails reopened a healing wound. She looked up at the demonic thing that had held her before. Somewhere of in the distance, she heard Nephrite call her name in a distressed way.

"Too slow, dear," the thing, Mael, said. He grasped her waist with his large hand, and shot up from the ground, holding tight to Lita.


	23. Chp 22

A/N: I realize how short that last chapter was. Sorry, I was kind of rushed. I'll try to make this one longer. OK, OK, remember in an earlier chapter when Tanzanite was looking around and he saw this big glowing thing that turned out to be Lita and Nephrite? Well, my little explanation is that when the two of them are distressed, or scared, or feel threatened, and they're close like they were that night, the power between the two of them spikes to a great high.

Chp 22

Lita struggled under the crushing force of Mael's claws. He was flying high through the air, against the rain that felt white hot on her skin. Her clothes were soaked through, yet she didn't realize any of it. Her fear was too great. Her mind was racing as she was trying to think of what to do. Her mind told her to stop struggling— she would be just as bad off if this thing did let her down. Nevertheless, Lita struggled tirelessly.

Nephrite ran through the streets faster then he would have thought possible. He was working against so much— the sharp rain, his battered body, and the creatures behind him. They were simply toying with him. They would swoop down and reach for him, their claws tearing through his clothes and skin time after time. Nephrite was battered and bloody, but he paid it no mind. He had to get to Lita. It was all that mattered.

Lita struggled harder, as Mael flew ever higher. She swung her fists and scratched of pieces of his flesh. None of it seemed to faze him.

"Let me go, you son of a bitch!" She yelled. She almost felt like laughing at the surprise when she heard herself use the words.

Mael laughed, and tightened his grip on Lita's arm as he continued his flight up. "You _are_ feisty! Always a entertaining attribute in a woman." He stopped in mid air and looked down at Lita. "The moment of truth! Can you fly, little lightening bug?" Mael lifted his arms, as though he was bringing Lita up closer to him, and he threw her down.

Nephrite watched from the road that he was as he ran. He small a small object in the sky above him; the one he had been following. He strained to get a better view of what was happening. He felt as though his body was about to collapse completely as he watched the speck that was Lita falling.

"No!" he screamed and quickened his pace to a seemingly impossible speed, as he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do.

Lita screamed for a moment as she fell through the air. For some reason, she stopped. She couldn't quite explain it, even to herself. She just— didn't want to. She felt as though she shouldn't.

Lita gasped sharply as she felt something grab her ankles as she was no more than ten feet from the ground. She speed she had gained on her way down caused her to fall several more feet, but she was again stopped before she made the would be fatal impact. She looked up and saw Mael, as she knew she would.

"I can hear your heart beat, you know," he said, in a matter of fact tone. "I can hear how fast it's going. That's how I know your scared. It was beating faster when I held you than when I dropped you." He paused for a moment. "Now it's racing. Don't worry— it won't hurt for—"

Lita screamed as Mael took a sharp dip and turn. His attention was no longer on her. Lita followed his gaze and saw that Mael was looking at Nephrite, he was standing mere feet away from them, his sword in hand. He ran at Mael again, and swung his sword, causing Mael to drift backwards again, more smoothly this time.

"Foul play!" Mael shouted, though he had an amused look on his face. "Now Nephrite, we had an agreement. I let the two of you run, and I got to kill whomever I caught first. Now don't be a sore loser. At least I won't kill _you_."

Nephrite looked enraged as he swung again at Mael, this time his blade coming dangerously close to his chest. Lita saw surprise flash through Mael's eyes. She saw this was not at all what he had expected to deal with. Lita noticed this moment of distraction, and used it to her advantage. She concentrated all that she could on her powers as she glared up at Mael. His body went rigid as Lita sent a strong electric current through him. He pried his hands open, and Lita fell the last five feet to the ground. She landed on her back on the cold, hard ground.

Mael glared down at Lita menacingly. Before Lita could move, Mael came down to her, his claws aimed at her throat. Moments before Mael could grasp her, Lita saw Nephrite through himself at Mael. He knocked him off course, tackling this being that was twice his size to the ground.

"Nephrite!" Lita yelled in shock and fear as she pushed herself off the ground. She was shocked watching Nephrite, who had quite obviously been fighting to reach Lita, fighting this huge monster. It seemed ludicrous that Nephrite would attempt it, and it was purely amazing that he was not already dead. One slip up and it would be over. Lita could see Nephrite becoming weaker by the second.

Lita saw Mael take several dangerous swipes at Nephrite. Nephrite amazingly had enough agility to dodge the blows, but Mael kept coming back into his space. Lita wanted to help Nephrite, but she was too afraid that she would do just the opposite. The two were moving so fast; she had no clue if she could land such a risky hit from a distance. She felt utterly helpless.

As Lita was watching the two of them fight, she heard a sound in the distance. The sound was like a large animal dying. Lita couldn't draw her eyes from the continuing fight, but she recognized the sound well enough. Suddenly, the downpour of rain stopped. Lita tore her eyes from the fight and looked up. She was absolutely shocked at what she saw. There was such a large group of these creatures; they completely blocked the rain from coming down. Lita took in a shaky breath, her body trembling.

Lita shortly screamed out loud when the creatures started to come down. Nephrite and Mael were tore from the fight at the sound, and looked up. Mael drifted back from Nephrite a few feet, smiling. Nephrite ran in Lita's direction, grabbed her hand when he came up to her, and didn't stop running. He was going obviously slower then he had before. Nephrite was quite a bit weaker, and Lita still could not completely keep up with him. Fear over took Lita as the rain was blocked once again.

"They're right on top of us!" Lita yelled to Nephrite. They were forced to stop as the large group of creatures surrounded them. Nephrite pulled Lita closer to him and held her tight as he glared at Mael, who stood right in front of them.

"You sent us on quite a chase," he said, his arms crossed. "I'll admit, it was harder then I had expected. Refreshing though. I see why Tanzanite feels he has to break the connection between the two of you."

Without any sort of warning, the group of creatures rushed at Nephrite and Lita. Neither of them had any chance to fight back as they were lifted off the ground by the creatures and yanked in opposite directions. Nephrite and Lita called out each other's names, and reached out for each other. Their fingers brushed lightly against each other. When it did, a small spark went between the two of them. The bright light grew brighter and larger. It blasted largely, becoming warmer as it went. Lita and Nephrite heard all of the creatures screeching as they were forced to close their eyes to block out the blinding light.

Lita and Nephrite both landed on the ground. After a moment, they opened their eyes, both of them breathing heavily. They were lying on the ground, their arms stretched out, their fingers now less than an inch apart. They stared at each other, both too shocked to move, to leave the now empty field.

A/N: OK, this is not a cliffhanger! It's not the ending either! It's simply the end of the chapter! This was a scene from a story that I never really got anywhere in. I've had it in my head for a while, so I hope it turned out good! I hope it was understood. If you didn't Lita and Nephrite's shared power spiked, and it destroyed the creatures. There.


	24. Chp 23

A/N: This chapter may seem like the end, but _it is not! _It's leading up to the end, but the story is not done!

Grab some tissues!

Chp 23 

Nephrite sat in a chair he had pulled up against Lita's bed, the way he had done many nights on Jupiter. He watched her lay still, exploring the depths of her mind as she slept. Nephrite stared at her; stony faced; deep in thought.

The night played itself through his head like bits of a film. Glass shattering, the creatures searching his living room, Mael appearing with Lita in his arms. He saw Lita plummeting to the ground, the two of them running from the approaching monsters, and Lita being pulled out of his grasp. He saw the bright light shining off the two of them, and a brief flash of Mael's face showing the confusion he had felt.

He thought of the words that Mael had said when he was holding Lita.

'That is what I love about it! Distressed lovers, truly terrified in the last moments, when life dangles by a thread in the middle. Loosing a loved one seems to be a constant fear of humans. What a curse, to feel such a fear.'

As much as Nephrite hated to admit it, Mael was partly right. It was a constant fear of Nephrite's. He couldn't imagine loosing Lita. When she was in danger, he did feel terrified; he couldn't deny it, even to himself.

Mael got such a joy out of terrorizing Nephrite and Lita, because they loved each other. It gave him a certain high. He enjoyed seeing their fear, because the other person was always on their mind.

Nephrite went thought over the time he had spent with Lita. As time went by, as he got closer to her, he became more reckless. He had let his guard down. At the ball they had danced, when Nephrite would have sensed Tanzanite, had he been paying attention. When he had fought Tanzanite in the garden, half of his attention was always on Lita, which nearly got him killed. In the mountains, he had been reckless and had run out onto the unstable ice, and could have killed himself then. This night alone, it was his love for Lita that nearly got her slaughtered.

Nephrite closed his eyes and dropped his head. He had made up his mind.

Lita silently opened her eyes. She looked around the room, which was filled with sunlight. She looked over and saw Nephrite sitting in a chair, his head bowed. His breathing was deep, so Lita knew he was awake. She sat up quietly, as to not wake him. She jumped when Nephrite picked his head up.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I was trying to be quiet, I didn't mean to wake—"

"You didn't," he said curtly.

Lita looked at him, her head cocked, slightly confused. "Is something wrong? You should sleep, last night—" her voice trailed off. She saw that Nephrite wasn't really listening to her. "Nephrite?"

Nephrite swallowed deeply and met her eyes. "I— I can't—" he pursed his lips, looking for the right words. Lita reached out and took hold of his hand, but Nephrite pulled it away, looking as though it pained him.

"Nephrite—"

"No," he said firmly. "I need to get this out. We can't— be with each other like this," his eyes fell away from her face, unable to look at her beautiful features twisted in pain. He looked up at her again. He knew he couldn't falter in this. He had to be strong to do it. "It won't work. It's gets too much in the way," he ground his teeth. This lie would kill her. "_You_ get too much in the way."

Lita stared at him. "What?" she whispered; her voice barely audible. No one had taught her to be strong for this type of thing. She felt the hot tears rising in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Why are you saying this?"

"It needs to be said," Nephrite said, wincing at the lack of emotion in his voice. He thought he could handle this. Lying had never been so painful. "You're a distraction. I can't concentrate well enough on my job. You're just a child. I was assigned to protect you, and only that. I can't keep playing this game. It's bad for both of us."

"This has been a game to you?" Lita whispered. Her voice was strained, as she fought against sobbing. Tears flowed down her cheeks, unbeknownst to her. They were, however, painfully obvious to Nephrite. "You play, telling me you love me?"

Nephrite stood up stiffly. "I told you once. It was a mistake," he turned to leave, when all he wanted to do was run over to her, begging her to forgive him, that he meant none of it, that it was all to protect her.

_Save her, _he thought. _Lie to her to save her._

"I let things get out of control. You must put it out of your mind now. Forget it ever happened."

Lita stared at him, unable to move. She felt cold, and could not speak. She wanted to call out his name, run to him, hold him, and forget any of it had ever happened. But she could do nothing as Nephrite walked out, closing the door behind him.

Nephrite walked away from Lita's door on shaking legs. He went into his own room and shut the door, then sat down on a chair silently.

_You had to do it, _he told himself. _Had to. For her sake. _

Nothing Nephrite told himself helped. Though it was the truth, it did nothing. Silently, wearily, he sighed long and low, and placed his head in his hands, trying to shut out the sobbing coming from across the hall.


	25. Chp 24

Chp 24

Lita hastily pulled on her clothes. She had been lying in bed, silently crying for hours. Now she knew that she had to stop. She had to leave.

Lita grabbed a coat off of her bedpost as she crossed over to the window. The sun was shining, but it was still winter, and the rain clouds were rolling in.

_You're being stupid, _she thought. _Just where do you think you're going to go? You don't know anyone here. No one but Nephrite._

Simply thinking his name sent a sharp twinge of pain to Lita's heart. Fighting back tears, she slipped on her coat.

_It hurts too much. I just can't stay here._

Lita slid the window open and pushed the screen out.

_Here comes the tricky part…_

Lita twisted herself in all different ways as she made her way through the tiny window. She tumbled out backwards and landed on a high bush.

_Nice. Very graceful._

After struggling to get out of the bush, she slid out and dusted herself off. Lita turned to look back at the house as a single tear fell. She wiped it away quickly, turned, and ran.

Nephrite crossed the hall to Lita's room. He rapped his knuckles on her door, but got no reply.

"Lita?" he called through the door. "Lita, it's late. You can't starve yourself, you need to eat _something_."

He stood at the door for several moments, hearing nothing.

_Of course, idiot. Why would she talk to you?_

Nephrite shook his head and turned away to leave, feeling cold. Nephrite stopped, turned back, and knelt down in front of the door. He put his hand at the base of the door by the crevice in between the base of the door and the carpet. He felt cold air coming through.

"Lita?" he shouted, standing up. "Lita, answer me!"

Silence. Nephrite tried to pull the door open, but the handle wouldn't move. Nephrite realized then that Lita had locked the door.

"Lita, I'm serious! If you're there, answer me!"

Silence again. Nephrite had had the sinking feeling that there would be no reply.

Nephrite leaned back against the wall behind him, and raised his leg. In one powerful quick, the door cracked and fell open.

Nephrite stared at the empty room, stunned. He ran over to the open window and looked out. He saw no sign of Lita.

"Shit."

Tanzanite sat on the cold floor, brooding. He tapped his long fingers on his chin as he thought aloud to himself.

"How could they have survived that? How in the hell could they have?" He shook his head. "I shouldn't left. I should have watched them die."

He stood up and began pacing. He walked over to the mirror and leaned against it. Agitated, he banged his fist against the glass. A spider web crack spread out but disappeared almost instantly.

"Show them to me," he growled.

The mirror fogged for a moment, and then showed two pictures. One was of Nephrite in his car, driving slowly through crowded streets, looking around, determined to find something. The other picture was of Lita walking through some meadow. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks flushed. She had her coat drawn tightly around her, trying to block out the cold wind.

Tanzanite's scowl softened, as he understood what happened.

"They're separate—" he whispered to himself. "They're alone, and don't know where the other is."

Tanzanite smiled.

"Perfect."


	26. Chp 25

A/N: OK my readers, we are winding down to the last few chapters! Should be done… no, I won't give myself a deadline. It shouldn't take much longer though. Keep reading and keep leaving reviews! They give me that extra little push I so need!

Chp 25

Nephrite sat in his car, cursing under his breath at the traffic that was completely stopped. He banged his fist on the wheel and yelled aloud to the cars.

"Can't someone get _moving_!"

Of course, the cars stayed just where they were. Nephrite looked around, seeing the same spots that he had been staring at for the past few minutes. Still, there was no sign of Lita. He sighed and leaned his head out the window, trying to see what was keeping the cars from moving. Was traffic always this bad, and he never noticed? No… God simply hated him.

Nephrite saw the flashing lights of sirens about two blocks down. No one was moving near them.

"Damnit!" he yelled. He banged his fist on the steering wheel again, setting of his car horn. A driver in front of him turned around angrily and shrugged. Nephrite angrily waved his hand, dismissing him. He looked around impatiently, trying to decide what to do. Nephrite sighed, exasperated, closed his eyes and sat back.

No sooner had he settled into his seat than he felt a strong, hot pain on his back. He shot forward and gasped. He looked behind him and found nothing there that would have hurt him. Confused, a flash of Lita's face came to his mind.

"Lita—" he said, distressed under his breath. He flung the door of his car open and ran out.

Lita walked through the wide, empty field. The wind had begun to pick up, and was encircling her with cold, damp air. She buttoned up her coat and slid her hands inside of the fur-lined pockets. It helped some, but her bare face and neck was still stinging from the air. Thick layers of dark, angry clouds now blanketed the sky. Lita knew that any moment the rain would start coming down. She knew she should get somewhere, but she saw nowhere that offered any shelter.

_This was a stupid idea, _she thought. _I should have stuck to the main road._

Lita knew that she couldn't have done that. Not if she wanted to stay hidden from Nephrite.

_I shouldn't have ran away. How childish. People break up— it's really no big deal._

Lita was surprised at the sob that came out. She knew that she was lying to herself. It was a big deal. She loved Nephrite, she needed him. She thought he felt the same way. No… she was a mistake to him. A childish mistake, a fling.

Lita had brought herself down to a real low. All she wanted to do was lie down in the middle of the field.

Lita was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the presence behind her. Not that she necessarily would have— Tanzanite didn't even disturb the air when he silently appeared.

Lita felt a rush of wind behind her, but didn't think anything of it. She hadn't the slightest clue as to what was happening until the burning hot blast hit her square in the back. She knew then that Tanzanite himself was behind her. Lita panicked, trying to think what she was to do once she got her footing back.

_God, what's that noise? _She thought. _So loud… screaming? I'm screaming…_

Lita lost consciousness the moment she hit they ground. She landed on her back at an odd angle. Lita felt sharp pain rushing through her body and filling her limbs. She saw Tanzanite towering over her, heard Nephrite's voice off in the distance. Then she closed her eyes and lost sense of all else.

Tanzanite crouched down next to Lita. He didn't even notice Nephrite rushing towards him. He placed two fingers over Lita's jugular vein and felt her pulse, still strong. He then reached into the pocket and pulled out a small sheathed dagger. He tilted her head up; figuring the largest vein would be the quickest way to do it. Least painful, especially since she was unconscious.

"No!"

Tanzanite looked up, hearing the scream. He saw Nephrite for the first time, running towards them at an amazing speed. Amazing how quick Nephrite had found Lita in this place. The bond between them was growing incredibly strong.

"Don't make this harder then it has to be, Nephrite!" Tanzanite yelled. "Leave now!"

"No!" Nephrite yelled in a strong voice. He was so close…

Tanzanite sighed and put his dagger back in his pocket. No way he could do what he had to with this stubborn man. Tanzanite gathered Lita in his arms and stood up. He looked to Nephrite, and saw that he was no more than two feet from them.

Nephrite reached out to grab Tanzanite. Tanzanite disappeared so quickly, Nephrite was unsure if he grabbed his clothing or merely thin air. Nephrite squeezed his eyes shut, feeling another blast of ice cold wind.


	27. Chp 26

A/N: Ok guys, just a couple more chapters to go! Keep leaving reviews, even at the end!

Chp 26

Nephrite opened his eyes. He felt as though they weighed a ton, but he had to open them. He felt so tired… Nephrite was concious that he was lying on his back in some cold place. There were no sounds around him. just breathing.

Nephrite closed his eyes and sighed. His lids felt sore from the struggle of opening them. Nephrite tried desperately to figure out what was going on, where he was, what he was doing there.

_I was in a car… _he thought. _No, I got out of the car. I was in… a garden? No a field. And there was someone there… come on, Nephrite, who? … Lita._

Nephrite opened his eyes quickly. He sat up straight, ignoring the pounding in his head. He found himself in a large, empty room. he could scarcely call it a room. more of a space.

He looked to his left and saw Lita. She was sprawled out on the floor, as if she was dropped there carelessly. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale, but she was breathing. Nephrite, feeling to weak to stand up, pulled himself over to her. he looked at her for a moment, afraid to touch her. she looked so frail to him.

nephrite gently pulled her towards him and rested her head on his lap. He brushed her hair back from her face, and bent over her, as if to protect her.

This was how Tanzanite found them when he approached. Nephrite completely silent, bent over Lita, who was still unconcious. Tanzanite sighed low.

"You should have simply turned back, Nephrite," Tanzanite said. If you had, you would not have had to watch. It would not have been so hard. Tell me you wish to leave now, I will send you back."

Nephrite remind silent.

"You _are_ a stubborn man. It will hurt to see her die, Nephrite."

"She's not going to die," Nephrite said in a low voice without lifting his head.

"Nephrite, I do not wish to draw this out. I am not a bloodthirsty man. I kill her in defense, and I do not wish to fight you again."

"This is not self defense. She has never done anything to you." Nephrite raised his eyes, looking up at Tanzanite. He glared at him, looking more fierce then Tanzanite had ever seen him. "She lived peacefully before you came into her life. she never did anything to you. she didn't even know of you."

"That does not matter. I knew she would gain power upon meeting you. she would have destroyed me."

"And with good reason."

"You're entitled to your opinions."

Nephrite picked his head up and glared at Tanzanite. "You say she gained power upon meeting me. did she gain power because of me?"

"Yes. The two of you have an immense bond together. Which causes both of your powers to combine and grow."

"And you want to kill her to eliminate this bond, our powers."

"Correct."

Nephrite looked back down at Lita. "I won't let you kill her."

"Now Nephrite, we've discussed this. You're a reasonable man—"

"You will not kill her," He said, his voice strong and firm. "You only need to break the bond. You just have to have one of us dead."

Tanzanite nodded.

Nephrite looked up at him again.

"Then you will kill me."


	28. Chp 27

A/N: This one's a tearjerker! Grab your tissues! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Chp 27 

Lita felt an urgency to wake up. She was sure it was vital. She heard voices conversing, but the sounds blurred together and made no sense to her. She couldn't even tell who was speaking.

Lita sighed and stirred. The voices stopped. She heard a single voice after a moment. She couldn't make out anything about it, but she had a feeling that the voice was directed towards her. She felt soft hands caressing the sides of her face.

_That feels good— _she thought. She didn't want it to stop. There was that voice again, the one that was directed towards her. If only the voice would stop— she felt perfectly fine with the hands stroking her face, and the warmth of the body surrounding her.

The voice, which was becoming clearer, sounded sad, and distressed. Lita wanted to open her eyes for the person. It sounded so sad— she had to come out of the darkness to find it and comfort it.

Lita forced her eyes open. At first, everything seemed dark, as if she had stood up quickly. She told herself to focus, that this too was important. Finally, after a few frustrating moments, her vision cleared. She saw a face, which was directly in her view. For a moment, Lita didn't want to let herself believe it, but it was as clear as day. The tanned skin, vibrant blue eyes ((I think they're blue. It's my story, we're going to go with blue.)), and wavy brown hair. She knew it was him— Nephrite.

"You're awake," he said, offering her a small, relieved smile.

"I hope so," she said in a voice barely audible. She saw Nephrite's eyes change for a moment, and they showed a great sadness. It was true grief. His whole face seemed to age. The look on his face almost brought tears to Lita's eyes. Nephrite took in a deep breath and was able to tone down his expression, though not clear it completely.

"Where are we?" Lita asked.

"I'm not sure," Nephrite said, as though it was hard for him to say. He looked up, hearing a noise. Lita followed his gaze. She gasped upon seeing Tanzanite, and recoiled in fear, right into Nephrite. Nephrite held her tighter. "He won't hurt you, Lita."

Lita looked up at Nephrite, confused. "Won't hurt me? He has been trying to kill me for half a year."

Nephrite shook his head and brushed back a strand of Lita's hair. "Trust me, will you?"

It was obvious in Nephrite's voice how hard he was trying to make things sound better than they really were. His pain was so great; nothing could hide it.

Nephrite pushed Lita up slightly so she was in a sitting position. He then looked over at Tanzanite.

"Let her go," Nephrite said. "I don't want her to stay here."

Tanzanite shook his head, and Nephrite's heart dropped.

"I can't do that, Nephrite," Tanzanite said. "I can't risk the both of you leaving. This needs to be done here and now. I will put her back home, unharmed, when this is all done."

His simple tone sickened Nephrite. But Nephrite couldn't do anything— not with Lita's life hanging in the balance.

Nephrite gently turned Lita's head to look at him.

"Lita— I want you to close your eyes, ok?"

"Why?"

"I told you to trust me. I need you to do it now. Just do what I say, all right?"

"No, not all right. You tell me what's going on," she said, her voice raising slightly, tears threatening to choke her. "Tell me!"

Nephrite was about to open his mouth, when Tanzanite cut in.

"Let's speed this along, hmm?" He appeared suddenly behind Nephrite and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. By simply looking at Lita, he pushed her back several feet. Though unharmed, Lita felt as though some invisible force heavily weighed down on her body. Nephrite stared at Lita, horribly pained, fighting some internal battle.

Lita stared at Nephrite searchingly. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nephrite shook his head. He stared at her, as though he was trying to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"Lita—" he said, struggling with even that. Lita was aware of his meaning, without needing any more words to be shared.

"You do love me," she whispered.

Nephrite smiled slightly. "Yes," he said. "I do. I love you."

Tanzanite roughly grabbed the back of Nephrite's head. He jerked it back, exposing Nephrite's neck. He lifted the same dagger he had held to Lita's neck back in the field. Nephrite closed his eyes and remained silent, letting it all proceed. Suddenly, understanding hit Lita full on, like a blow to the stomach.

"No!" she screamed, jerking her body forward. Tanzanite looked at her, unable to mask his shock of her breaking the force he had on her body, and because of her sudden outburst.

"No! Don't you touch him! _I'm _the one you wanted to kill! You leave him alone!"

Nephrite looked at Lita, pleading with his eyes for her to stop. She couldn't possibly realize how hard this was for him in the beginning, for her to watch him die. Now her agonized cries were nearly too much for him.

To his horror, Nephrite felt Tanzanite's hand loosen it's grip on Nephrite's head.

_No! _He shouted inwardly, too terrified to speak out loud. _We had a deal— we had a deal, and he's going to go back on it! He'll kill her…_

Nephrite knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes again and reached quickly for Tanzanite's hand. He grabbed it and tightened Tanzanite's grip on the dagger. Ignoring Tanzanite's curse of surprise, Nephrite quickly dragged the dagger across his own throat, completing the task Tanzanite may not have been able to—

Tanzanite stared down at Nephrite, allowing the blood to flow and allowing Nephrite's lifeless body to fall to the floor. Lita let out a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a scream. She felt as though she could not will her body to move, even if it physically could. She stared at Nephrite's body, crumpled on the floor. She felt completely numb. She closed her eyes, searching for a way to turn back the hands of time.

Lita was scarcely aware of Tanzanite's hand on her shoulder. She paid no mind to her body flying, moving back to Nephrite's home on Earth. She did not feel her feet touch the ground, or her legs give out, nor did she feel her knees hit the wet ground. It was the sharp, cold raindrops that slowly brought her back to the reality she so dreaded.

Lita opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurred again, but this time by her tears. She took in a deep, shaking breath she was unaware of holding. She looked up into the cold rain. The rain, which she use to love— it mocked her now. The sky let its tears fall as she allowed hers to. Lita looked back down at the ground beneath her, the only thing that supported her. She did not attempt to stop the body-racking sob as it came out. She knew she would not be able to. She doubled over, her legs tucked beneath her, her head bent low to the ground.

Lita let out a loud cry. A cry nearly inhuman… covered in a type of grief no person should ever know. Cry after cry— she didn't care who heard it.

"No!" she screamed. It was the only word that could work it's way out. "No! No, no, no, no…"

Cry after cry again. The low, deep cry that saddened the hearts of any and all who heard it. She shed tears that seemed to come without end— tears that would undo nothing.

"Nephrite…" she said softly. Hearing the name out loud was more then she could bear. The rain pelted down on her and lightning flashed as she lifted her face to the sky and screamed his name. She dropped her head, allowing the tears come. And come they did.

The End

A/N: … Don't hate me. You guys had no idea how hard it was for me to write this… I was crying myself. I had to listen to the song that inspired the ending again and again to will myself to actually write it. Sorry…


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